Meerkat

Meerkat

A Day in the Life: Desert Animals Series

By Anita Ganeri

Heinemann Library, 2011

ISBN #978-1-4329-4773-6

Grades K-2

"What Is a Meerkat?

A meerkat is a mammal. All mammals have some hair on their bodies and feed their babies mil. Meerkats are about the size of large squirrels. They belong to a group of mammals called mongooses."

The meerkat, in the mongoose family, are endearing little mammals that stand up tall to peer at the world, dangling their long front claws. The gray brown mammals are introduced to the reader in chapters that answers the chapter heading question. The book covers the description of meerkats, their activities day and night, food, babies, predators, and homes in simple language. The book's large, up-close photographs support the text on each page.

Back matter includes a body map page with labels, a picture glossary, book and website recommendations, and an index in its 24 pages. The cover illustration shows a group of meerkats standing up and one has its mouth wide open, showing the pink tongue. This picture should attract kids to the book and the text will keep them reading.

Activity 1

Look up information about prairie dogs. Then create a Venn diagram to show the similarities and differences between these two groups of social animals.

National Geographic has good information about prairie dogs.

The Prairie Dog Coalition has interesting prairie dog information.

Activity 2

Look up the characteristics of mammals. Write an explanation about why meerkats are mammals.

This site has simple facts about mammals.

Enchanted Learning has mammal information.

National Science Standard: characteristics of organisms