Possum Come a-Knockin'

by Nancy Van Laan, George Booth (Illustrator)

A cumulative tale in verse about a mysterious stranger that interrupts a family's daily routine.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Family, Humor, Poetry, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Nancy Van Laan was born in Baton Rouge, La. Her father was a colonel in the US Air Force, and the family moved frequently as Van Laan was growing up. She began making up stories to pass the time on long car trips. Although Van Laan had a learning disability, she loved to read. She began drawing and writing poetry as a child and enjoyed illustrating her own stories. Van Laan also loved ballet and began taking lessons at the age of nine. By age seventeen, she had her own ballet company in Birmingham that performed on a weekly program broadcast on Alabama Educational TV (now Alabama Public Television). Van Laan’s dancing career ended after an injury she sustained as a student at Sullins College in Bristol, Va. After completing her AA degree at Sullins, she enrolled at the University of Alabama, earning her BA in radio and television in 1961.

Van Laan moved to New York after college. She worked briefly at an advertising company and then joined ABC-TV where she worked as a network censor from 1962 to 1966. Van Laan began writing at this time and also studied art. After her first two children were born, she resigned from ABC and began painting professionally, creating murals for schools and private clients. She earned an MFA in theater from Rutgers University in 1979 and wrote two plays which were performed regionally. Van Laan moved to eastern Pennsylvania where she taught English at a private boarding school from 1984 to 1989. She also taught creative writing at Rutgers from 1986 to 1989. Van Laan published her first book, The Big Fat Worm, in 1987. Two years later, she left teaching to write full time. Since then, Van Laan has published over two dozen books. One of these, Rainbow Crow, was featured on the PBS television series Reading Rainbow. Van Laan lives and writes in Doylestown, Pa.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of George Booth's The New Yorker cartoons, so I thought I might enjoy this book featuring his illustrations.

I was wrong.

Booth's artwork, when colored instead of just pen & ink, looks muddy and sloppy, and the text is just a mess of trying-too-hard-to-be-folksy jibberish.

Then dawg started sniffin'
and a-pawin' and a-growlin'
while the cat, tail a-twitchin'
was a-hissin' and a-howlin' . . .

I'm a-glad I a-didn't hafta read a-thisin a-loud!

[Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to my 14-month-old daughter as a gift because her parents dressed her as a possum for her first birthday. Cute, huh? No really. It WAS cute. You should see the pictures.

Anyway, while the illustrations leave something to be desired, the key to Possum Come A-Knockin' is the cadence with which you read it aloud. First, adopt a north Georgia mountain accent (if you do not, the text practically backs you into one), and proceed at a measured clip. A couple of deep breaths are required to get through passages that run from one page to the next, but that's part of the fun. It's quite catchy and addictive. My daughter usually wants us to read this book at least twice a night to her.

Also, take my word for it that at the end of each page when the phrase "knockin' at the door" is read, you should then click your tongue or clap your hands or something twice. Our daughter now makes double sounds at the end of almost every page, which is cute. No really. It IS cute.

[Noëlle Alexandria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just plain fun. The cadence makes your mouth feel like it's dancing. There is no way to read this book aloud without being forced into a southern dialect. I admit reading this book with adults just for the laughter it invariably causes.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite book when I was about 2.

[Claudia Soronen]

A friend got this for me because we have a pet possum at our new house. And yes I am 100% counting this toward my reading goal thank you very much

[Rachel Renbarger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Take the girl out of Oklahoma but can't take Oklahoma out of the girl.

Not really. MIL bought it because was husbands favorite back when and it is VERY Oklahoma but the redundancy and stereotypes in the rhymes just won't do

[Cammie Thurston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possum Come A-Knockin is a funny story about a possum coming to a family’s home. Each family member is doing different tasks when the possum comes up to the door and knocks. The main character of the book tells his whole family that there is a possum at the dorr but when he opens it, there is nothing there! I remember when my mom would read this story to me when I was younger and I loved it. She would read it in a funny voice and get really into the story. This story rhymes and is a really funny to listen to because it flows well. I would love to read this book out loud to my kindergarten or first grade class because I think that children would love to follow along and get into the funny rhyme of the book. This book wouldn’t be great for a lesson or unit but it would be a fun read for a whole class.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really don't want to get caught up in adding so many children's books to my "read" list - but this one is just so wonderful and I don't think it's one of those top books that people know about - and they NEED to know about it if they have kids! I think my daughter (she's 23 now) would STILL count it as one of her favorites!

[Logan Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites as a child, Possum Come A-Knockin is a classic. It has great rhythym and melody to it throughout the story. If you are reading it to your classroom, be enthusiastic and it could be a big hit for your students!

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid who spent most of my pre-kindergarten life in the deep South I appreciated this book. Even as an adult I can go back and laugh out loud at the colloquialisms.

[jan crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my nephew 20 yrs ago , loved it so bought one for both my great grandson and great granddaughter a 1yr ago.

[Rose Mary Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book to teach sentence fluency

[Matrie Harmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is told in a rhythmic, rhyming text that makes it a great read aloud. It will be easy to engage young readers with it's playful language. The illustrations add to the humor of the story as they depict the chaotic family scenes inside the house while at the same time we see the possum outside knocking.

[Danada · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in College for a Teaching Children's Lit class. It was wonderful! You can act it out with kids or read aloud and since there is a lot of repetition the kids can join in. Loads of fun for everyone!

[Runita Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a children's literature class. I am always looking for diverse books that represent as many students as I can. It was a part of my quest to find books that featured American dialects. It's a fun book that highlights local culture and language.

[Haleigh Weidner · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really was not fond of this book. The illustrations were unique, but seemed messy and confusing to me. The story did not seem to have an actual plot, I could not tell what was going on. It seemed very disorganized and confusing.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite read alouds for story hour. The bouncing rhyme and straight up silliness is guaranteed to make small listeners smile. It's hard to keep from knockin' on any flat surface available to add to the fun rhyme. RECOMMEND!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see kids really loving the cadence and rhyme of this book. Can't wait to read it to kids. Fun. Memorable.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent rhythm!

[Krystal F · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed hearing this book read aloud! It has a great cadence and sure makes the mouth move quick (it'll take some practice to not mix up words or sounds).

Category: Picture Book

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVE it! I think it would be a blast to do in storytime. A little long, but I think it would work.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so much fun! I read it with my granddaughters last night and just ordered it for Story Time.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a young boy tries to inform his family members that a possum is knocking on the door, they stop what they're doing to see it, but the possum hides when the door is opened.

[Karl H · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures. Were hilarious.

[Marjiesue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun with rhyme and rhythm for adults and children alike!

[Leslie E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a favorite of mine in the classroom!

[Adam Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious book! Kids still ask, "What's a 'possum?" after reading it though. My daughters' favorite!

[Lil Cam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bars on bars

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wayne was obsessed with this book from about 14 to 18 months and still loves it. I actually thought it was a little scary when my grandpa read it to me when I was 3 or 4!

[Wit Tomasino · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dear followers,

The most profoundly confusing experience just befell me. There I was--enjoying an evening meal innocently as I am wont to do--when to my great surprise, a possum began knocking at my door. At least, that is what I was lead to believe from Mother. I'll be honest, I'm not entirely certain what this door thing is, nor a possum for that matter. I would be hard pressed to tell you exactly what action denotes knocking, but I sense from the context that it is an unexpected activity for the creature known as possum. If I were to summarize the lesson to be learned here from this book it would be that Mother has a southern accent, and is thus completely unintelligible. Let us all hope I do not inherit that most deplorable of traits.

Sincerely yours,
Wit