IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS

Even rotten possums get happy endings.

Carl’s a “bad-to-the-bone” possum. He pops kids’ balloons and licks their ice cream. Hunched over his “villainous devices,” he also plots world domination. Being nasty is lonely, so Carl gets creative: He’ll literally make friends. He orders a “Possum Populator” machine so he can create new “perfect” possum pals as nefarious as himself. Carl ignores the instruction manual, sloppily assembling the machine himself. The carelessly scrambled machine goofs; instead of a “possum empire,” it spits out a “penguin jazz choir.” Carl’s furious, though the performing penguins become the toast of the town. His subsequent commands to the Populator yield no better results, producing pigeon poops, playful pandas, and various other animals and foods beginning with P. Besieged Carl finally consults the manual and fixes his machine, but the screen says it won’t work for 100 years! Seems Carl is doomed to be alone. But wait—is that a balloon-busting, ice cream–licking, “bad-to-the-bone” penguin seeking his acquaintance? Kids will giggle over this comically inventive story and Carl’s exaggeratedly humorous wickedness and will enjoy coming up with additional outlandish P possibilities the Populator could deliver. The dynamic, colorful digital illustrations are equally riotous, conveying sound effects and deploying typographical creativeness.

Fast-paced fun and hijinks.