The Ugly Five

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The ugly five is a repetitive and rhyming book which could encourage children to join in with the story. Therefore, I think it would be suitable for reception, year one and year two class. Located In the south of Tanzania, Nyerere National Park is a vast, wild reserve – larger than Switzerland – with just a scattering of small camps. As always, Julia Donaldson’s rhyming is fabulous. It is never forced or awkward and, with its rhythm and wit, is always a pleasure to read. The illustrations by Axel Scheffler are again lovely. His style is instantaneously recognisable and very child-friendly. The message of the book is charming - that beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder and that we are perfect just the way we are. However, they don’t only scavenge for their food. They’re skilled hunters, too. In fact, they’re part of the most successful predators in Africa. Meiner Nichte gefällt dieses Buch sehr - und mir auch. Die Geschichte ist süß und die bilder sind schön gemalt.

Find all of the rhyming words in the book. Can you make your own rhyming dictionary using some of the words?Hyenas can adapt to almost any habitat and are found in grasslands, woodlands, savannas, forest edges, sub-deserts, and mountains. These animals are normally found in groups and they spend most of their time in search of food. Warthogs are members of the pig family and are widely distributed across Africa. These animals sleep underground in burrows which they steal from other animals such as the aardvark. When running through grass their tails stand up straight, and when in danger these animals choose to run, rather than fight. When asked to vote thumbs up or thumbs down, Dragonflies class (Year 2) polled a mixture of thumbs up, thumbs down and thumbs in the middle. Dominic thought it was boring, but liked the pictures of the funny animals. Brandon thought it was too long and wasn’t funny. Maia liked “seeing animals I’ve never seen before”.

The name ‘warthog’ doesn’t scream ‘ good looking’. And there’s no hiding the fact that they’re rather ill-favored in the beauty department.

1. Marabou Stork

I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books. What’s the difference? National Parks, Game Reserves, and Conservancies in East Africa 02 February 2020 Wildebeests may not be easy on the eyes, but they’re not terribly unattractive when compared to the other animals on this list. Besides, an ugly wildebeest wouldn’t know how ‘ugly’ it was, as their eyesight is extremely poor.