“Possum’s Harvest Moon”
by Anne Hunter
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1996, 32 pages, grades K-2.
Last weekend, a full lunar eclipse took place. These are very rare and quite exciting to see. The moon has always had a certain enchantment. Poets have composed sonnets to it, songs have been sung about its beauty and people have enjoyed the beauty of moonlight. We hear the phrase “harvest moon” during autumn and “blue moon” when there are two full moons in one month.
Anne Hunter has written a charming story of animals in the field getting ready for winter. But the Possum sees greater possibilities for the night and plans a special event. Through Hunter’s soft and gentle drawings we see this all come together in the delightful book, “Possum’s Harvest Moon.”
It is night in the country and all the animals have had a busy day. Everyone is preparing for winter by stockpiling food and working diligently to get ready for the first snows. But as the moon rises over the meadow, Possum is taken by its beauty and decides all of the animals should have a party. He is excited and immediately begins going to his neighbors and inviting them to the celebration. But the mice tell him that they are so busy getting ready for winter that they can’t take any time for merry making.
Disappointed, Possum then asks the crickets to come to revelry. The crickets tell the Possum that they don’t want to leave their warm and snug piles of leaves and go out into the cold night air. Crestfallen, Possum next asks the Old Raccoon to come to the party. But the Old Raccoon growls at the Possum and tells him that he must keep catching fish in the river so that he can become fat enough to survive the winter.
Next, the frogs and the fireflies refuse his invitation to the event. Possum simply can’t believe that all the animals don’t want to celebrate this beautiful moonlit night. So he sits down and puts on his party hat and dejectedly tries to enjoy himself.
But as the moon continues to rise and shower its golden color on the fields, a strange thing begins to happen. All the creatures begin staring at the glowing moon. They remember Possum’s invitation and wonder why they hadn’t accepted it. All of a sudden, there is a scurrying through the bushes. Possum can’t figure out the sudden noise. Then he turns and sees: the night has just gotten much better.
What did Possum see? Did all the animals finally come to the party? Have you ever thought you were too busy to enjoy an event? Were you really that busy? Or did you just miss out on a delightful slice of life? To find out what all the animals learned in the night meadow, go to the library and check out “Possum’s Harvest Moon” by Anne Hunter.
This is a delightful book to read with the younger children in your family. The pictures are comforting and the text is interesting. I particularly liked the facial expression of the animals throughout the story. They are very funny and expressive. So if you want a delightful book to share with a younger member of your family, “Possum’s Harvest Moon” is just the ticket. I liked the story and think you will as well. Enjoy!
