Possum Magic
This book is best for:
- Narrative retell
- Setting - ‘where’
- Regular past tense
- Irregular past tense verbs
Review
Grandma Poss and little Hush are two possums who live in the Australian bush. But Grandma Poss is no ordinary possum; she can do bush magic! Grandma Poss uses her magic to turn Hush invisible so that she will be safe from the scary predators that live in the bush. But when Hush decides she no longer wants to be invisible, the two possums must travel across Australia in search of the magic ‘Australian’ food that will make her visible again.
This is another classic Australian picture book by Mem Fox, which is well-loved by teachers and therapists alike. It is perfect for covering themes, such as Australian geography, animals and food. Possum Magic is also great for targeting narrative retelling skills as it has a true narrative structure and concise use of language. It has multiple setting changes, making it ideal for teaching children about story settings (i.e. where the story happens).
For further speech and language targets in Possum Magic, see the list below.
Book Details
Narrative Structure: Complete Episode ; True Narrative
Story Plot: Wishing Tale
Themes:
- Australia
- animals - Australian animals, nocturnal animals
- family
- food
- places - bush
- magic
Speech and Language Targets
Speech Sounds:
- /b/ - bush, books, biscuits, beach, Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart, nibbled
- /h/ - Hush, Hobart, hug, head, half
- /dj/ - magic, vegemite
- /sh/ - she, bush, Hush, squash, shrink
Grammar:
- conjunctions (because)
- regular past tense
- irregular past tense verbs (made, thought, ate, found, held, began)
- temporal markers (one day, next morning, later that day, late one night, later)
Semantics:
- labelling
- identifying parts
- describing
- explaining means to a goal (e.g. what could Grandma Poss do to make Hush visible again?)
Social-Emotional:
- problem solving
Narrative:
- traditional opening
- setting
- sequencing
- direct character speech
Rhyme & Sound Awareness:
- rhyme
Book Info
Published by Cengage Learning EMEA in 1990 (ISBN: 9780152632243)