Using a clever, nuanced palette of live action, stage magic, an original soundscape, elements of puppetry and projected animation, Monkey Baa’s award-winning creative team have translated the whimsical world of the book to a live experience for audiences 3–8 years (and their families). To extend this idea a little further, though it is true that young children will accept almost anything in a well-written story, this is precisely the reason we need to be careful about offering them stories with a modern ideology. When there is the symbolic annihilation of non-whites and female characters, and world-views which should have gone the way of the dodo, it’s not that the child reader doesn’t notice; it’s because these ideas are being so thoroughly taken on board that the ideas themselves seem invisible. Older editions of Possum Magic feature a map of Australia with place names. I wonder why publishers have decided to take this out of earlier versions (or perhaps it is simply an Australian/International publication difference, in which case Australians wouldn’t necessarily need a map). COMPARE POSSUM MAGIC WITH But Grandma Poss has trouble finding the magic to make Hush visible again and, although Hush tells her she doesn’t mind, “in her heart of hearts she did”. Eventually Grandma remembers that, “it’s something to do with food. People food—not possum food”. And she and Hush set off around Australia to find the food that will make Hush visible. Prices correct at the time of publication and subject to change without notice. Exact prices will be displayed with seat selection. Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times.

What's not to love about possums? They're as cute as can be, mischievous, smart, and best of all they have a fantastic story written about them in the form of the Mem Fox story Possum Magic. There are several wheelchair and companion seating positions available in our theatre. Creative Team Grandma Poss uses bush magic to make a child possum (Hush) invisible so that Hush won’t be eaten by snakes. (I’m going to put aside the fact that snakes seem to ‘see’ via vibrations, so an invisibility superpower wouldn’t necessarily protect her…) But soon, Hush longs to be able to see herself again, the two possums make their way across Australia to find the ‘magic food’ (quintessentially Australian food) that will make Hush visible once more. Each year on Hush’s birthday they eat the same food ‘just to make sure Hush doesn’t turn visible again’, thereby creating a kind of mythology about why (white) Australians eat certain foods as celebration. Dianne Smith (June 2000), "Biographical Note", A Guide to the papers of Mem Fox (PDF), Lue Rees Archive, p.3 , retrieved 2 September 2021 Magic isn’t a thing that you see; it’s a thing that you feel. And that’s exactly what this production leaves you with: a very magical feeling."

Possum Magic". Horn Book Guides. Media Source Inc . Retrieved 2 September 2021. one enchanting book. There are now a lot of Australian picture books which star local fauna. Many of them are fairly pedestrian, introducing the young reader to the names of the creatures and perhaps what they eat and their circadian rhythms, but this story is particularly well done because of the mixture of local fauna (beautifully anthropomorphised), Australian food (for humans), Australian geography and Australian dialect. Few Australian picture books manage to combine all of those things, and so Possum Magic has become for Australians like a celebration of Australia. Indeed, this is a book by an Australian, written for Australians, and there was a time when this in itself was something to be celebrated.

Featuring spellbinding magic, puppetry and original music, Monkey Baa’s award-winning team has turned the whimsical world of the book to a live experience for audiences ages 3+ and their families. Richards, Kel (1 June 2022). "Kel Richards: Beloved children's classics are being sacrificed at the altar of politically correct wokery". Sky News Australia . Retrieved 7 June 2022.Discover the wonder of Possum Magic with limited edition collector coin series". Royal Australian Mint . Retrieved 14 September 2017. Applying a post-colonial reading to this storybook, which was published in the early 1980s, it is pertinent to point out, however, that the national and cultural identity Fox writes about is limited: geographically to the coastal regions of Australia and gastronomically to exclude indigenous foods and flavours. I heard Mem being interviewed on TV a while ago. She said that if you didn't have time as parents to read several books a day to your children (meaning picture books, as you might imagine) you should have had gold fish instead. Maria Savvidis. "Stories in the sun". sl.nsw.gov.au. State Library of NSW . Retrieved 2 September 2021. The trend for popularising (and personifying) the country's native animals saw the creation of such classics as .. Mem Fox and Julie Vivas' Possum Magic (1983),

Peter Fuller (14 March 1984). "Short lists for children's books" (scan). The Canberra Times. p.28 . Retrieved 2 September 2021– via Trove. In 1978 I was 32. Chloë was 7. She was such an avid reader I couldn’t keep up with her passion for books so I decided, as a non-traditional student, to take a course in children’s literature to find out about as many books as possible that might interest her, particularly those that had been published since my own childhood. O'Brien, Susie; Hodge, Regan (29 May 2022). "Popular children books deemed not culturally diverse enough". Herald Sun . Retrieved 7 June 2022. Read with my Turkish host family's children. While a lot of this probably went over the 3-year-old's head (who outside Australia knows what a lamington or pavlova is?), he enjoyed asking me 'What's that?' and pointing to the wombat and the koala. The idea of a possum is something he still doesn't get. Reading this so far away from home this time made me miss Australian 'culture' somewhat; well, maybe just lamingtons... Mem Fox is a beloved Australian children's author, and the writer of Possum Magic. She is a professor and public speaker, though has been semi-retired since 1996.I didn’t grow up in Australia, but live here as an adult, so I approach this particular picture book both as a foreigner and as an outsider. There is now a counting book to accompany the original story. WONDERFULNESS Children's awards: Theme of book 'transcends age' " (scan). The Canberra Times. 21 July 1984. p.8 . Retrieved 2 September 2021– via Trove. Jeanette Larson. "Possum Magic". School Library Journal. Media Source Inc . Retrieved 2 September 2021. A perfect choice for storytimes, but also useful for curriculum enrichment, thanks to a simplified map and glossary.

Over 25 years, Monkey Baa has become one of Australia’s widest touring companies with 38 national tours to 135 regional and remote communities, 5 international tours and over 3500 performances reaching over 1.5 million young people. Alternatively, if you're studying possums (without the magic), then don't worry: we've got you covered. Say hello to this Possum Fact File, which makes a great handout to help your students with their studies, or a charming poster for your wall. It would go great with a few homemade possums! Beata Bowes (25 January 2018). "10 Classic Australian Children's Books". victorianopera.com.au . Retrieved 2 September 2021. Not every picturebook author can get away with this: Half rhyming, half not rhyming. But Mem Fox does: In Fox’s narrative food is the magic that makes Hush visible. It constructs her as a subject and thus may be said to stand in, metonymically, for culture itself. For Michel Foucault culture is the magic that makes individuals visible. Following Nietzsche, Foucault argues that cultural discourses of truth, power, and knowledge distinguish between normal and deviant behaviour, thus determining individuals’ actions and constructing them as subjects. For Foucault power does not “crush” individuals; it does not need to becauseSusan Nicholls (29 May 1983). "The best in children's books illustrated" (scan). The Canberra Times. p.8 . Retrieved 2 September 2021– via Trove. Monkey Baa Theatre Company creates and presents great theatre for young people. They collaborate with internationally acclaimed authors, award-winning creatives, and most importantly, imaginative young people, in bringing their shows to life. In case you were wondering just how deep it’s possible to go in the analysis of a seemingly simple children’s story such as this one, Carolyn Daniel has much to say about Possum Magic in her book Voracious Children: Who eats whom in children’s literature. First she points out that this is an example of a Quest Narrative.