Dead Possums Are Fair Game

Ella loathes disorder so she should love numbers, right? Unfortunately, math is the subject that "whizzed right past her" and she is doing so poorly in math that she may need a tutor for the summer-the horror! Ella's teacher unveils a math surprise (a group project- ugh!) and her aunt moves in with Ella's family turning her orderly world upside down. Will Ella trust her friends enough to help bring up her math grade? Will her favorite aunt ever learn to be tidy? An athletic opossum, a slobbering dog, and meatloaf that resembles a brick make this laugh out loud book a treat for upper elementary students. This teacher can't wait to share it with her students.

Author Taryn Souders has mastered the art of the middle grades novel--funny, quirky, believable, and with just a bit of math and science facts tossed in for good measure, Dead Possums was a hit with my homeschoolers. They laughed out loud, identified with the characters, and engaged actively with the story. While the title alone will get them talking, Souders superb execution of story will keep them turning pages, long after the stink from that dead possum has worn off.

Pretty good , girl-ish so boys wouldn't love it just something that my classmate said (he's a boy) but if you love a good happy ending no surprise ending just same o'l happy everyone lives happily ever after 😐😑 🤔😶🙄😒ps I feel so bad for posting this sorry 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔

I LOVED this book! Taryn has done a wonderful job of creating a fun, funny, and well-written story that actually succeeds in making math interesting, not terrifying, and definitely not boring. Being not-so-good at math myself, I can appreciate what she's done here for those of us with math anxiety. This is great book--not only for the math themes but also for the wise life lessons Taryn weaves throughout. Buy this book! You won't be disappointed.

Love that this book can also be used to reinforce math- especially time conversions. Would make a great class read that can pair with topics learned in math!

Ella doesn’t like math. Or dead possums. She ends up doing a project with both that will determine whether or not she spends summer break working with a tutor. Along the way she learns about teamwork and comprise.

While the main character may be a girl, I know this will appeal to all the kids. From having your home space invaded by company to the threat of spending the summer being tutored in your least favorite subject, most kids will be able to relate to what goes on in this end-of-school-year story. And laugh.

I bought the book and gave it to my granddaughter. She's eleven. She got glued to it! Could not put it down. Took it home after her visit that day and read on and on until she finished it. She said it was the best she had read in a long, long time. I hope there are more books coming from this author. Love to see my granddaughter happy!