This was such a fun little book!!! Some genuinely helpful, yet simple suggestions from such an unlikely source. The illustrations in this are particularly cute.

When in Doubt, Play Dead is insightful and .. adorable. Come on … opossums and squirrels and other cheeky woodland creatures doling out deep thoughts? Honestly my kids kept sneaking up behind me and aww-ing at the illustrations, they are so cute! This is a great little tabletop book and would make a sweet gift for anyone!

Here's the thing: I love possums. A lot. I love the concept. And I enjoyed the back matter touching on the author's story of rescuing a possum for the first time and their experiences; I would've welcomed more of that for sure!

The high points for me were a couple of tidbits I didn't know about these silly little wonderful creatures, such as how possums have been found cohabitating with other species like armadillos who have already dug out a burrow (can they get any cuter?!). I wish there'd been more of that tied to the advice, instead of catch-all sentiments or random mottos that felt greeting card adjacent to me. I'm averse to generic self help-isms like "ask yourself if it will matter in five years, if not then don't sweat it!" BUT that might be a me thing.

Lovely kids book!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

You could do a whole lot worse than take advice from a creature that's managed to survive since the Cretaceous Period. There are plenty of true possum facts scattered among the words of advice from these prehensile tailed stars. It's a charming, feel-good read for you or maybe a friend who's feeling down.
What a great way to learn to roll with the punches, and live your best, most possumy life.

And, the author sure draws an adorable possum!

Very sweet, cute book. Wonderful illustrations. Opossums are my favorite animal, but I never thought I'd be getting advice from them. Would make a great gift for an animal lover, new graduate, or friend.

One of those gnomic little gift books, with the sayings and aphorisms to guide you to a self-helped place delivered by opossums. We are invited to take to the world with the explorative eye, the ignorance of failure and the friendly cuddling of the opossum, but we can also scream and play dead if we have to. Pretty artworks and the usual one sentence per page are added to by real facts about opossums hiding away here and there. A novelty, and a whimsy, but a heartfelt one and one done rather successfully.

This book is equal parts adorable, hilarious, and informative. I wasn’t expecting the last one. It was a very cute gift book with great inspirational text. I was suprised to find facts about possums along with back matter about how to care for a possum should you find one in need of care. These little critters are very on trend and I’m so excited to share this with my customers and friends.

I enjoyed this story. This has wisdom through a opossum view. The illustrations went along with the wisdom saying.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher to the opportunity to review this book. I love opossums and I hate that they get an undeserved bad reputation. I am thankful there are rescue groups and individuals out there trying to educate people on how amazing and wonderful opossums are. I enjoyed the advice in this book and all of the pictures are SO cute! This will make a wonderful gift and sure to put a smile on everyone who reads it!

This a cute book with absolutely adorable illustrations ! it made me giggle.

The opossum facts were a bit out of place. Maybe if they were shown the same on each page it would have made a little more sense.

Really cute, good life lessons.
The illustrations were comical and cute.
Was very enjoyable and easy to read.

What stood out for me in this charming, feel good book were the delightful illustrations created by the author Ally Burguieres. Living In the UK I was unaware of these little opossums but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them, and their words of wisdom.

This book really is a labour of love for the author. She shares her story of how she rescued her first Opossum ‘Sesame’ and the others that followed. By observing the animals in minute detail, the author realised that they have a unique, cheerful and kind personality which could be highly advantageous to humans.

The short, sweet quotes and simple advice are funny and heartwarming. Paired with the amazing watercolour illustrations, this book becomes a sheer joy. It would make a great gift for any animal lover.

I didn't realize how much I needed to read this one. It was so heart warming and sweet. I love possums and the illustrations are wonderful.

This was such a cute book! It's filled with advice from the point of view of a possum. I found this to be funny, witty, and insightful. Overall, a quick cute read!

This book made me chuckle. An easy read and finished in one short sitting. I would happily recommend for a quiet Sunday afternoon.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

When In Doubt,Play Dead is just the most sweetest, most adorable, and uplifting book of life advice I've ever read and has fast become my favourite. The quotes are fun, relatable, and inspiring, and it is a great book to lift your spirits when feeling down. We all need a lift sometimes, and this just ooses happiness, good vibes, humour, and warmth. I definitely want a physical copy of this book to pick up whenever I'm having a bad day.

“Heart explosion” This is just the cutest book! With so much amazing yet simple advice! And the illustrations are just precious. In today’s crazy, stressful world this book is an antidote! And the author’s story at the end is the cherry on top! This is the perfect gift for almost everyone including you! You really, really need to read this book! It will make even the most curmudgeonly smile!

Ally Burguieres did not intend to be an opossum rehabber. Sesame, her first opossum, came into her life by accident. In the process of learning how to care for him, since he was non-releasable, she came to learn the wisdom of these funny creatures. Opossums, slightly dopey, slow, silly beasts seem not to have a care in the world beyond getting snacks. There's an awful lot of wisdom in that.

WHEN IN DOUBT, PLAY DEAD is a collection of the wisdom she's accrued over her years of animal rescue. Delivered in a simple voice, and accompanied by some of the cutest artwork you'll ever see, this is a book every bit as precious and valuable as her previous one: POSSUMS ARE NOT CUTE! AND OTHER MYTHS ABOUT NORTH AMERICA'S ONLY MARSUPIAL. While the latter book was heavier on the facts about opossums, this book is more about the wisdom you can get from them.

The wisdom may be as simple as the title implies - or it may be something like "The difference between flowers and weeds is often a matter of taste." Regardless, it will be something that is bound to make you smile. There's something endearing about these little opossums and their other animal friends. Many of the animals within are actually pets from Ally's friends, something that only makes this book all the more special to those who know her.

I wholeheartedly recommend this sweet book to anyone who loves opossums, or those that are opossum-curious. This book is full of sweet reminders to slow down and eat the flowers - and to smile often, but if someone tells you to smile... you're perfectly within your rights to scream at them.

This is a beautifully illustrated book, providing lessons and wisdom for living, and this fount of wisdom is coming from opossums. These are marsupials which can grow to the size of a house cat. They have been described as a cross between a chinchilla and a squirrel but I have never seen one to be honest because we don’t have them in the UK.

Who would have thought that they could teach us such wisdom?

Well they can and do.

These marsupials appear to be much maligned but the author shows us how they can teach us wisdom. This is a lovely book with beautiful illustrations which help us see the world in a simple way and it provides simple advice which we can listen to if we are courageous enough. I am always sceptical about books that seek to give advice but I did enjoy this one and I think this book will make a great present for a few people I know.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.