Henry Possum [Hardcover]

Harold Berson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 13, 1999

Until he meets a fox, a young opossum ignores all of his mother's warnings about the dangers of the forest.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Crown Publishers (January 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517502976
• ISBN-13: 978-0517502976
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,559,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PLEASING READ FOR THE WEE ONES., December 25, 2008

By 

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Henry Possum (Hardcover)

Henry Possum by Harold Berson was published in 1973 and is sort of an odd little book, are I say a bit quirky? I like it. Henry, a young possum simply would not listen to his mother while she was trying to teach him and his four brothers and sisters how to play dead. Henry was off humming and chasing butterflies. Try as she might she could not get Henry to pay attention or to take her seriously.

All was well until one day, while setting in a persimmon tree, Henry, per usual, was paying no attention whatsoever, and fell from his mothers back to the forest floor; into a clump of honeysuckle, which suited Henry just fine. Henry suddenly figured out he was lost, after spending much time wondering around watching a lady bug, spying on a lizard, checking out a cocoon, listening to a woodpecker tapping for grubs on a tree and seeing the squirrels dashing about from limb to limb. Henry found the forest a rather scary place. Lucky for Henry, a friendly magpie gave him a shiny new flute to keep him company.

Now as is my usual practice of not throwing any spoilers into my reviews, I will sort of have to stop here. I will say though that an unfortunate meeting with a sly gray fox, who did not have a proper appreciation for flute music, but did like possums; good grief, only too well, brought mom's lessons back into play very quickly.

The story here is simply and whimsical. the art work, probably done in water colors is just off beat enough to be very interesting while staying pretty close to being anatomically correct as to the various creatures Henry meets on his journey. The pictures, one on each page, go quite well with the text and it is easy for the little ones to follow.

This is another of those fantasies that we should not loose even it this one is long out of print. It is worth digging up and saving.

How the Devil Gets His Due

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book!, August 3, 2011

By 

Seneca R. Green (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Henry Possum (Hardcover)

I'm so glad I finally tracked this book down! I loved it as a child and I hope to read it to my children in years to come! The message is very good and the illustrations are charming and entertaining, for those who, like Henry, haven't learned to listen fully and just like the pretty things.