Epossumondas

by Coleen Salley, Janet Stevens (Illustrator)

Overview

Who's Epossumondas? Why, he's his mama's and his auntie's sweet little patootie, that's who. He's also the silliest, most lovable, most muddleheaded possum south of the Mason-Dixon line!
Better choose your words wisely when he's around, 'cause otherwise you never know what you'll get. Epossumondas just might bring you a fist full of crumbs, or a soaking wet puppy, or a scruffy wad of bread—oh, you just wouldn't believe it!
Renowned storyteller Coleen Salley and Caldecott Honor illustrator Janet Stevens team up for this outrageous twist on the Southern story of the noodlehead who takes everything way too literally. (Or is that Epossumondas just pulling his mama's leg?)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152167486
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	08/28/2002
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.38(d)
Lexile:	AD600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

COLEEN SALLEY was a professor of children's literature for thirty years and now travels widely as a professional storyteller. The old tale of Epaminondas is her trademark, and her new variation appears in print for the first time as Epossumondas. A native Southerner, she lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.

JANET STEVENS is the author-illustrator of many popular and award-winning books for children, including the Caldecott Honor book Tops & Bottoms. She used her friend Coleen Salley as a character model in both Epossumondas and the ABBY Honor Book To Market, To Market. Ms. Stevens lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Editorial Reviews

This story is a retelling of an old traditional tale. The original tale, Epaminondas, belonged to a group of stories called noodlehead tales, which include a confused main character who does not use good judgment or learn from experience. In this variation, Epaminondas has been changed to a baby opossum, called Epossumindas. The baby opossum is a literal-minded character that mixes things up while trying his best to follow mama’s directions. Like the old noodlehead stories, Epossumindas is told what to do for one thing and applies it literally to another. Better choose your words carefully when explaining things to little Epossumindas, as you never know how things will turn out. Mama’s and Auntie’s sweet little “patootie” brings home a wad of bread, butter under his hat, and a wet puppy covered in leaves. The pleasing full-page illustrations show Mama and Auntie as human characters and the baby opossum wearing diapers. The little opossum interacts with his human Mama and Auntie as well as a host of other animals with human characteristics. The end pages give a brief history of folktales and how they came from old oral tales. This title has a delightful balance of gentle humor and silly antics. Reviewer: Kathleen Ulrich; Ages 5 to 7.

Children's Literature - The Economist (UK)