Customer Reviews

Possum Come A-Knockin' (Dragonfly Books)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My family's all-time favorite read-aloud book. This is the only book I was ever willing to read as many times as it was requested. The story and illustrations are whimsical and fun and the rhythm rolling and delightful. A "must have" for any family library.

Possum Come a Knockin'
Nancy Van Laan
Illustrations by George Booth


A mischievous, well-dressed trickster, Possum, knocks on the door of a busy country family. Chaos ensues with hollerin', fussin' and cussin' when Possum's knockin' disrupts Granny's knittin', Ma's cookin', Pa's fixin', Dawg's a twitchin' and a scratchin' and Pappy's whittlin'. When the whole family stops their activities and quietly opens the door to see who is knocking, wily Possum sneaks off. The Southern dialect brings this knee-slapping, rhythmic, chanting story to life. George Booth's creative illustrations of the family, their pets and the top-hatted Possum add more facets to this tale with his hilarious visual gags. This funny, quirky story will quickly become a favorite of the whole family. Nancy Van Laan's toe-tapping tale with its rich vernacular is often incorporated into primary classroom instruction in music for its rhythm and also in Language Arts instruction as an example in dialects. Possum Come a-Knockin' is a 1990 Parents' Choice Award Winner.

BIBLIO: 1992, A Dragonfly Book Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Ages 3-9, $14.99.
REVIEWER: Sheila Daughtry
FORMAT: Picture Book
ISBN: 0-679-83468-0
ISBN: 0679847839

Well, a "Possum come a-knockin' at the door, at the door. Possum come a-knockin' at the door." This possum. By simply knockin' manages to send the whole house into uproar.

This is a great book to read out loud because the words have a natural rhythm and the story sounds much better read out loud because of it. The story flows wonderfully; it has to the way it was written.

The illustrations are also very good. They do an excellent job of capturing the emotions- the devilish smile on the possum's face, the frustration of the narrator, and the bewilderment of the rest of the family.

For all its many wonderful characteristics, the way this book reads is what makes it so special and unique.

Loggie-log-log-log

I do not read poetry to my children. English is not my native language and, to my dismay, I am "tone-deaf" to English rhyme. This little book was a rear and happy exception. We read it over and over and over - the whole family was chanting and enacting "possim", who "came a-knockin' on the door, on the door..." I hope, you will discover what a riot it is to chant and play possim rhymes with your 3-year old.

If you are a prescriptive grammarian and cannot depart from your sad, grey world of ironclad rules for the sake of artistic expression, then don't buy this book. If the term "a-cussin" offends you, then make certain to check for peas beneath your mattress before lying down as they are sure to irritate your finely honed senses and foreclose upon the very possibility of your convalescence. Everyone else should consider buying this book because it is utterly charming in every way listed in the 4+ posts. And, in conclusion, I'll begin a sentence with a conjunction and end it by gettin my preposition on.

I have read, and read, and read this story to my class of Kindergartners so many times they can say it from memory. We all love the funny illustrations but our favorite thing about this book is the language. The dialect is so fun to read and to listen to. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys a vivid repeating story that is fun to read aloud.

Both my daughter and I used this delightful book in our classrooms and the children were entranced. In my music classroom we made up a game to extend the fun.

... when he was four or five. I had to read it so many times that I almost knew it by heart, and lines from it like "Granny was a-sittin and a-rockin and a-knittin" became descriptive tags for daily events of life. The text by Nancy van Laan is cumulative but not overly so. Just as you get one rhythm of it, the beat will change. The illustrations by George Booth, familiar to New Yorker readers, are hilarious.

This is a kind of Coen Brothers 'take' on rural Southern life, an "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" for the lap-reading set. I imagine that some people would be offended by it, since it's written in dialect, it shows a three-generational family in a shabby setting, and the "coon dawg" obviously has fleas. Is it condescending? Yup, ah reckon so. But as I said, my son loved it, so I've just bought a brand new copy to be sent to my four-year-old nephew in North Carolina, where neither possums nor shabby housing are unknown. I hope he likes it, too.

*
This is one of my very favorite books for children, ever.

It has such cute pictures in it, and it's also very funny...

That makes it is just as much fun for the adult who is reading it, as it is for the kids.

And it has a fun, bouncy rythm that makes it fun to read...

Kids just love it, and they soon learn the lines by heart.

They want to read it again and again.

This one is a "keeper" for sure, and a great gift to give as well...

This is one of the few childrens' books that stand out so much in my mind, that I tell people that they have got to go buy this book...

Now if everyone would just listen to me !! LOL!

Have fun, and your kids will too !

: )

Over the years I have bought at least a half dozen copies of this to give as gifts. I don't even have kids, but it's one of my favorites. You have to read it aloud--and with a southern accent if you can.
I love the drawings too--kind of primitive which suits this book well. The possum has very cute and devilish expressions on his face.
I stick up for poor misunderstood possums anyway and was happen to have one star in such a cool book.