24th February Possum Appreciation Day

I read that this day existed in my local free newspaper, but when searching the internet, I can find no reference to it. Not to be confused with Opossum Day which is the 17th October. Possums are Australian. Opossums are American. Some say that Sir Joseph Banks called them possums because he thought they looked like opossums. They are both marsupials, but not related.

However having not celebrated possums on my blog before I decided to do it anyway. After all I have done squirrels and raccoons which we do not have here in Australia and many here think possums are absolute pests!

In the black of night, Australia’s 27 species of possum and glider scamper across our roofs, dart along branches in secluded rainforests or peer tentatively from tiny hidey-holes.

They have  large eyes to capture more of the light at night. They have adapted to watch for owls, quolls and pythons, but their biggest threat – humankind – has increasingly encroached on their territory, destroying old-growth forest and its sheltering, century-old treehollow sanctuaries.

Where I live in Sydney there are two main species of possum that can be found, the brushtail possum and the ringtail possum and the children I teach are fascinated by them because they see them often in their backyards or in the bush near their homes. They notice the rope tunnels above local roads to allow the possums to cross aboreally.

Most books for children about possums are either factual or treat them as cute childlike characters such as in the most well known possum story Possum Magic. Go to the library and you might find these very Australian books

• Blossom Possom by Gina Newton and Kilmeny Niland

• Town Possum, Outback Possum by Yvonne Morrison and Heath McKenzie

• The Midnight Possum by Sally Morgan and Racklyeft

• Goodnight Possum by Coral Vass and Sona Babajanyan

• Possum Goes to School by Melanie Carter and Nicola Oram

• Possum in the House by Kirsten Jensen and Tony Oliver

• My Possum Plays the Drums by Catherine Meatheringham and Max Hamilton

• Echidna Scaly-tailed Possum and Echidna by Cathy Goonack and Katrina Goonack

• Possum's Big Surprise by Colin Buchanan and Nina Mycroft

• There's a Possum on the Porch  by Conny Fechner

• Hush, Little Possum by P. Crumble and Wendy Banks

• Bat vs Poss by Alexis Moses and Anil Tortop

• Penelope the Mountain Pygmy Possum  by Gordon Winch and Stephen Pym

• Tiny Poss and the Migrating Moths  by Julie Murphy and Ben Clifford

• Pip and Pim  by Ruth Hegarty and Sandi Harrold

• The Urban Escapees  by S.P.Ramage and Nettie Lodge

• Where do the Stars Go?  by Katie Stewart

• Oliver's Landing by Rebecca Johnson

•  Jump Baby by Penny Matthews and Dominique Falla

• The Long Way Home by Emily Rodda and Danny Snell

• Larry Leadbeater by Jo Watson

• The Kid Whose Mum Kept Possums in her Bra by Dianne Wolfer

If like me  you have been reading to school children for  a long time you might have squirrelled away a copy of Possums in the Roof by Julie Morris which is based on a true story, where a house has a loose roof tile and during a storm the roof leaks so the father climbs on to the roof to fix it. Unbeknown to him a mother possum has put her two babies in the roof cavity to keep them safe while the storm is raging. When she returns mother possum is distraught. When I read this story to children you can hear 'a pin drop', they are are so worried and yet eager to learn what happens. It creates so much discussion about children, parents and separation.

Possum  from the Solo Bush Baby series is also worth looking for.