You're Too Little by Katie Stewart

You have big eyes to see in the dark.

You have strong paws to hold on.

And you have a super special tail.

You have want it takes. Why not give it a go?

Bookseller blurb: Pygmy Possum wants to climb far, far up into the trees to taste the sweet blossom nectar. But everyone keeps telling her the same thing- 'It's very high. You're too little. You might fall.' Are they right, or will she find a way? This is a gentle tale of believing in yourself in the face of others' doubt and recognising your own strengths.

The main character in this story of bravery and confidence is a Western Pygmy Possum. Here is a photo:

Image source: Australian Geographic

Books with a repeated refrain are perfect for preschoolers either to read beside your own child or with a group. I like the way the Australian animals in this book really look like real animals and also the choices of animals are perfect because many of these will be less well known to young readers and so might spark some curiosity. 

Image Source: WA Museum

Katie Stewart reads her book in this video. Here are the teaching notes from the publisher. As background reading for teachers or if you set a research task for older students you might like to read more about each of the Australian animals in this story:

• Western Pygmy Possum
• Numbat
• Brushtail Possum
• Gecko
• Weebill

This is a Weebill - I had not heard of this bird

Image Source: Birdlife

This is a gentle tale of believing in yourself in the face of others’ doubt and recognising your own strengths, to have faith in yourself regardless of others’ opinions and develop resilience, perseverance and that inner strength that allows risk-taking as well as dealing with success and failure. The Bottom Shelf

Thanks to Fremantle Press for sending me a copy of this book which was published on 29th July 2025. This book reminded me a little of Puffling. If you are talking about growing up, confidence, perseverance, self belief and 'the right time' you could read these two books side by side.

The story is set at night because these animals are nocturnal but that gives rise to my only tiny criticism of this book - I found myself wanting a break from the strong saturated blue of the night sky which is used on every page. 

This book is part of a series:

Katie Stewart is an author and illustrator. Born in the north of England, she came to Australia at the age of nine. She started her working life as an archaeologist and ethnohistorian, went on to teaching and then to being a mother. She later worked in a school library, but her lifelong dream was to be what she is now. She is married to a farmer, has three children, and her great love of animals means she has a lot of pets and takes lots of nature photos. In her spare time, she tries to play the harp or wanders the countryside with a metal detector amusing the neighbours and occasionally finding an interesting piece of history. Her books have been shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year (2020 and 2021) and shortlisted for the WA Premier’s Book Awards (2022).

Appleblossom the possum by Holly Goldberg Sloan

There are lots of possums in my neighborhood and they are quite noisy at times and of course leave their little deposits on my veranda but after reading Appleblossom the Possum I have new insights into this little fury survivor and the ways they have adapted to life in the suburbs.

As this story opens Appleblossom is born - yes she is actually inside her mum.  "And then push comes to shove and she's out."  She makes the long journey up to the pouch.  All first born possum babies have names beginning with the letter A.  Subsequent litters will use B then C and so on. "Mama Possum is a free thinker and she encourages her babies to find their own names."  So we have Antonio, Alisa, Abdul, Alberta, Ajax, Angie, Allan, Alphonse, Atticus, Alejandro, Augusta, Amlet and finally Appleblossom - the last born.  At seventy-seven days the thirteen possums begin their acting lessons especially death scenes.

Eventually Mama Possum leaves the youngsters to find their own way and food.  Appleblossom, Amlet and Antonio decide to forage alone but come back together each evening.  Appleblossom finds herself in a tree above a human home. Her mother has warned her about these monsters and to make things worse there is also a dog in their yard but the tree where she shelters is full of delicious treats and so the next night Appleblossom heads back to the same yard but this time she climbs onto the roof and accidentally falls down the chimney.  Now her adventures can truly begin and she will need to call on all her acting talents to survive.

There are so many funny moments in this book especially towards the end when the three young possums confront the dog using quotes from Shakespeare.

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes!"
"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none!"
"All's well that ends well!"
"Fie, fie! Unknit that threatening unkind brow!  And dart not scornful glances from those eyes!"

Appleblossom the Possum has 275 pages but it is a very quick book to read partly due to the rapid plot but also the large print size (I appreciate this) and the use of white space.  The action really ramps up from Chapter 19. There are perfect full page illustrations drawn by the author's husband.

Here is an interview with the author.  Read the Kirkus review.  You can read Chapter 2 on the publisher web site.  Listen to an audio sample here read by Dustin Hoffman.  You can see some pages from the book here.  You might also like to read my review of Counting by 7s also by Holly Goldberg Sloan.

One word of caution - Australian children will pick up the error when Mama Possum is explaining marsupials and she uses the term koala bear.  All Australian children know our koala is not a bear but this is a very minor quibble and will not take away from your enjoyment of this sweet story.

A perfectly sweet animal tale, with just the right blend 

of humor, excitement, and uncertainty.

Michele Shaw  School Library Journal