Title: The Opossum and the Cats
Author: Marilyn B. Wassmann
Publisher: Writers’ Branding
ISBN: 978-1-63945-170-8
Pages: 32
Genre: Children’s Book / Poetry
Reviewed by: Barbara Bamberger Scott
Pacific Book Review
Artist and poet Marilyn Wassmann offers a story for children that is both exciting and informative, concerning the unusual relationship between two different kinds of animals drawn together by necessity.
An opossum snoozing in his home underneath a shed is awakened one day by the desperate plea of a cat about to give birth and needing a place for herself and her new kittens. The opossum, who generally lives alone and isolated, sleeping in the day after night roamings to forage for food, is astonished, but since opossums and cats are known to coexist, “a cat could ask the old opossum to assist.” Suddenly his den is full of kittens – “five tiny bodies arrived to stay.” He just can’t chase them out, so they begin to grow and play – and when the five curl up to sleep, they choose to do so beside the opossum’s tail, whose movements are a “special type of applause” indicating his approval as he watches them tussle and tease one another. All is going well, the cats, kittens and their host living tranquilly together, until the kittens, though warned by their mother, decide to play near a pond. The curiosity attributed to cats leads them to danger and near-tragedy. That day, the old opossum will take on a new role, becoming a hero to the kittens and their mother.
Wassman’s words are smooth and pleasing, while conveying a great deal of pertinent information about the two animal types involved in her story. Readers or listeners will garner new knowledge about opossums and their habits, and their understanding of cats and kittens will also be enhanced when seen as characters in Wassmann’s lively tale. Her couplet rhymes are enchanting and matched by them are her deft, emotive sketches of the hyperactive kittens and their exploits and the wily old opossum who is gradually coming to care for the little ones, despite their differing needs and temperaments. Wassmann, who has degrees in art history, library science and studio art, combines these disciplines in her books for children, which will both educate and engage her young readers and the older folk who may read to them. The Opossum and the Cats is a work that should appear on library shelves as well as in cozy homes, for reading and re-reading.
