Don't Play Possum

Keri Luiz

One never has to go far to find wildlife in the East Bay suburbs. Who among us hasn’t heard a raccoon rooting through our trash in the middle of the night or awakened to find a deer munching on our dewy roses? These contacts are ever present, and nobody knows that better than Gary Bogue.
A former curator at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum and the longtime author of a Contra Costa Times column and the popular book The Raccoon Next Door, Bogue has helped us manage our relationship with nature. His newest book, There’s an Opossum in My Backyard (due out this month from Heyday Books), tells the story of a lost little opossum’s adventures in a suburban backyard. The book, recommended for children ages four to eight, is educational—readers will get a glimpse into how people and pets interact with the various wild animals that inhabit our yards. It’s also cute—it was illustrated by Chuck Todd, who also collaborated with Bogue on The Raccoon Next Door.
It’ll also make you think twice about installing that doggie door. There’s an Opossum in My Backyard was due to be available in local bookstores August 1.