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The Barnes & Noble Review
In a marvelously mixed-up tale by acclaimed storyteller Coleen Salley, with artwork by Tops & Bottoms illustrator Janet Stevens, poor little Epossumondas can't ever get things straight when bringing home goodies from his auntie. Mama gives him instructions on how to correctly carry such items as cake, butter, a puppy, and bread, but the small "noodlehead" takes her words too literally, treating the puppy like butter (keeping it cool in water), for example, and the bread like a puppy (he drags it home on a leash). Mama's finally had enough after some time, but when she leaves and tells Epossumondas to "be careful about stepping on those pies," the small "patootie" pounces "right in the middle of every one." This silly story is just the right medicine for anyone who takes life too seriously: Epossumondas is a sweet, harmless character who means no harm, and his well-intentioned mix-ups will send young readers into fits of giggles. With a lengthy storyteller's note about folktales, storytelling, and noodlehead stories in particular, this winsome tale with southern origins is sure to win over fans young and old. Matt Warner
Kathleen Odean
In this entertaining tale, Epossumondas, an ever cheerful possum clad in diapers, is his human mama's and auntie's "sweet little patootie." His doting auntie gives Epossumondas a series of gifts to take home, starting with a piece of cake, which he squishes. His mama explains that he should carry cake under his hat, so that's what he does when his aunt gives him butter. Each present leads to another silly misunderstanding that will have children laughing, pleased to know better than the main character.
Publishers Weekly
Foolish Jack is cast here as a pampered, over-mothered Louisiana possum in a refreshingly retold version by New Orleans storyteller Salley (Who's That Trippin' over My Bridge?). This familiar story takes on new silliness as the improbable possum-child interacts with his human mother. And what a mother (fans of Stevens's To Market, to Market will recognize her as the same model)! Stevens, in wickedly observant pencil and watercolor illustrations, characterizes the doting matriarch and her sister as matronly, doughy-cheeked ladies in cat-eye glasses and flowery dresses circa 1952. When the aunt sends cake home with Epossumondas, he scrunches it in his hand and ruins it. His mother chides him, "Oh, Epossumondas, you don't have the sense you were born with!" and advises him next time to carry cake on his head. When his auntie gives him butter, he unthinkingly follows his mother's advice regarding cake transport. "What you got, Epossumondas?" a raccoon asks, as the butter streams down the possum's face. "Butter," he replied. "Hmm. Don't look much like butter to me," Raccoon says drily. Salley narrates the series of mishaps with a storyteller's impeccable timing and a pleasing Southern patois that should inspire many spirited read-alouds. A note at book's end gives an overview of the tale's many incarnations all over the world. Ages 3-7. (Aug.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 3-As explained in a "storyteller's note," this selection is the author's own variant of a classic "noodlehead" tale. Epossumondas is a young opossum who, like Lazy Jack, can never get anything right and transfers the advice that his human mother gives him from one situation to another, with hilarious results. When he carries butter in his hat because that's how she told him to carry cake, Mama explains that he should have wrapped it in leaves and cooled it in the brook. He tries that method on a "sweet little puppy," without much success. All of the elements of a good story are here: the establishment of the character and his shortcomings; the same mistake being made over and over; children's anticipation of what the character will do next; and the punch-line ending. Salley's text rolls off the page (and off the tongue) easily, and is accompanied by delightful watercolor and colored-pencil art that portrays a woeful, diapered Epossumondas and his big round Mama, complete with flowered dress, big red shoes, and purple-framed glasses. A fun storytime choice.-Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Variations of Epaminondas or Foolish Jack have had the noodlehead misconstruing his mama's advice for years, from black face and black dialect to more comic renditions, but this version hangs by a tail-and a possum's tail no less. "Epossumondas was his mama's and his auntie's sweet little patootie. They just loved him to death." But he proves he doesn't have the sense he was born with when he mangles and muddles his Mama's instructions as he carries home daily the items his Auntie gives him-crumbling the cake, melting the butter, nearly drowning the puppy, and battering the bread. His encounters with Alligator, Raccoon, Nutria, and Armadillo will have kids giggling out loud as they foresee what comes next, especially with Mama's final caution: "Be careful about stepping on those pies." In "A Storyteller's Note," Salley (a professional storyteller) cites the origin and reworking of this story, which is her signature tale. Those who know her will hear her voice as they read, but it is the lively, outsized illustrations that spark the story to its full exaggeration, painting the effusive Salley herself as Mama. The watercolor and color-pencil illustrations with photographic and digital elements play the silliness to the hilt with Mama at center stage in purple glasses, yellow hat with red rose, red shoes, and floral-print dress. Handsomely designed, the quality paper, pie-filled endpapers and large size add just the right pizzazz. Shaggy-haired, diaper-clad Epossumondas becomes a new name for a classic character with a wry, southern twist, and no misunderstanding-it's outrageous fun! (Folktale. 3-8)
APR/MAY 05 - AudioFile
In this engaging "noodlehead" story, young Epposumondas just can’t manage to bring gifts from his aunt home to his mother. "You don't have the sense you were born with!" he hears frequently. No matter what his friends suggest, this poor possum just cannot get it right. He carries butter home in a hat and drags a loaf of bread home by a string. But by the end of the story, Epossumondas has the last laugh. Cynthia Darlow narrates with gusto. In a nasal tone she is a well-intentioned but hopeless "sweet, little patootie." She has an animated, loving drawl as mother or aunt, and a wide repertoire of voices for each of the animal friends. A.R. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
