Reviewer: Dr Sam Lloyd

Title: Tiny Possum and the Migrating Moths

Author/Illustrator: Julie Murphy/Ben Clifford

Publisher: CSIRO Publishing (2021)

Age range: 6 – 9

Themes: Endangered mammal, mountain pygmy-possum, bogong moth migration, nocturnal mammals, seasons, Southern Alps and hibernation. 

Tiny Possum and the Migrating Moths is an important ecological tale of predator-prey relationships, migration, seasonality and the crucial role we as a community play in the survival of endangered species. The illustrations are beautiful, often set at dusk or night, depicting our possum in crevices and caves in the Australian Southern Alps and showing the interaction with the migrating bogong moth.

The recommended age for this story is 6 – 9 years. However, I believe the real beauty and value of non-fiction narrative science for children is sharing complicated and critical ecological relationships in an accessible and engaging way. This story could easily be shared with late primary school students and used as a platform to study other story themes in more detail, for example predator-prey relationships, migration and recovery planning.

In this story we follow the adventures of our female mountain pygmy possum through the seasons, including feasting on the highly nutritious bogong moths, hibernating and caring for her young. My favourite parts of the story were learning how this tiny creature stores food, builds a nest and the interference of artificial light in moth migration.  I also really liked the inclusion of the annual life cycle of the possum and information on the conservation efforts at the back of the book. 

This species is listed as critically endangered with an estimated 2500 individuals in the wild. Whilst it’s difficult for children to comprehend what that really means, this story really breaks down the annual life cycle of the species and helps us better understand the ecological role and significant effort to save this species. 

For further information on the Mountain Pygmy Possum and the Migrating Bogong Moths please visit:

Zoos Victoria: https://www.zoo.org.au/possums

Australian Museum: https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/mountain-pygmy-possum/