Meerkat just loves his food. In fact, he’s famous for it.
One day, after eating a big meal, Meerkat decides to take a walk. Uh oh! As he tries to leave his burrow he finds himself stuck. His tummy is too big!
Along comes Elephant. She decideds to help. Wrapping her truck around him she pulls and pulls. But alas Meerkat remains stuck fast. Oh, here is Giraffe to help. Giraffe holds on to Elephant who holds on to Meerkat and together they pull and pull. Still Meerkat remains stuck.
Ah, here is Zebra! How hard can this be she thinks? Zebra holds on to Giraffe, who holds on to Elephant who holds onto Meerkat, and together they pull and pull! But Meerkat still is stuck in the entrance to his burrow!
And so our story goes as Monkey and Bird finally join to try and pull Meerkat out. Meerkat’s funny and sarcastic comments add to the fun as each animal arrives thinking this should be a simple task.
This is classic Mem Fox storytelling with story repetition as each animal joins the queue to make a bigger and bigger tug to release our Meerkat from being stuck. Fox and illustrator Judy Horacek are the team behind the classic Where is the Green Sheep and this book certainly has a similar feeling to it. Great fun.
Reviewed by Jane Stephens
Age Guide 1+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mem Fox was born in Melbourne in 1946. She grew up in Africa, went to drama school in England in the mid-sixties, and came back to Australia in early 1970. Growing up outside the country of her birth gave her a unique perspective on Australia and a passionate love for it.
In 1983, she became Australia’s best-selling writer. She has remained the pre-eminent writer for young children for an entire generation. Possum Magic, her first book, is still available in hardback after 39 years, and has become a beacon of children’s literature for millions of Australian families.
Mem Fox has written over 40 books for children, many of which have become international best-sellers in Australia and the USA, including Time for Bed, Where Is the Green Sheep? and Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. She has also written several non-fiction books for adults, including her renowned book for parents: Reading Magic. Her books for both adults and children have been translated into twenty-three languages.
After years of study in literacy she became a full-time Associate Professor of Literacy Studies at Flinders University, South Australia, where she delighted in teaching teachers for 24 years until her retirement in 1996. Her focus on learning to read is legendary: how it is best learnt by reading to children for the first five years of their lives; the effect of literacy, or the lack of it, on every individual; and its enormous benefits for the economy of the country.
She has received three honorary doctorates and many other civic honours and awards, including South Australian of the Year in 2004.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Judy Horacek became a cartoonist in her mid-twenties, when she was wondering what to do with her life, and someone suggested she try cartooning. That fitted well with her love of drawing and writing and making people laugh, and was also a wonderful way of having her say about issues that were important to her, such as feminism and the environment.
She has drawn cartoons for many books, magazines and campaigns, and has had regular cartooning gigs in The Age, the Australian Magazine (back when the Australian wasn’t quite so rabid), the Canberra Times and then the Age again, and most recently the newsletter of The Australia Institute. Ten collections of her cartoons have been published.
Judy also creates children’s books, both on her own and with Mem Fox, including the incredibly successful Where is the Green Sheep?, which all started with a tiny etching Judy had done of a green sheep that caught Mem’s eye.
She makes and regularly exhibits her watercolours and limited edition prints. Currently she is working on a number of collaborative projects, and thinking about new methods of combining words and images in ways that make people think and try to save the planet.
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