Awesome Possum Family Band

The youngest member of the musical Osmonds offers a fictional take on his childhood quest to find his niche in the family business. Osmond portrays the clan as anthropomorphic possums with numbers instead of names; the youngest sibling, Number Nine, botches repeated efforts to discover his talent. When he tries to make a poster promoting the band, he flings paint everywhere, splattering himself, two brothers, and the dog. After playing instruments and attempting other jobs prove similarly disastrous, his mother offers some platitudinous advice: “It takes some time to figure out, just what we love to do./ So practice, practice, practice, to make your dreams come true.” Despite this emphasis on hard work, none is needed: after Number Nine starts singing to himself, his older siblings immediately take him on as singer. Osmond’s high-energy cartoons are cheerful and competently drafted, but his verse suffers from wobbly rhythms and often strains after its rhymes (“Next he grabbed a hammer, building stage sets with his dad./ Maybe this was where he’d find a talent that he had”). An overlong quest for self-discovery with a too-easy resolution. Ages 4–8. (May)