I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him). A set pattern is followed throughout the story as the animals continue to walk and find a new friend to join their group. The pattern begins by the animals noticing another unusual looking creature, the creature then describes who they are before the rest of the group asks them to join their ‘clan’. The animals continue on their walk by singing the song. Oliver thought it was mysterious. Sonny pondered the message of the book and told me: “At the end of the book they weren’t really ugly at all - they were lovely.”

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. In reality, warthogs are quite intelligent. They sleep underground at night, yet they don’t dig their own burrows. Rather, they steal them from other animals, such as aardvarks. Not a kind move, but a clever one. Marabous can eat anything, including termites, flamingos, and small birds and mammals, as well as human refuse and dead elephants. They share carcasses with other scavengers like vultures or hyenas. Did You Know? The Ugly Five are an odd-looking bunch with a bad reputation. Yet each of them has their own unique and fascinating story. Some are vital to their ecosystems, while others dazzle us with spectacular wild shows. Bring along a camera with a long lens if you can. You’ll definitely want to get some close-ups of the ‘uglies’.

Creative Play

Marabou storks are one of Africa’s most unique birds, and they are also one of the largest birds in the world. They can be found in both arid and wet habitats, especially near human habitation. Curiously, warthogs are omnivorous, meaning they can eat both vegetation and meat. Their diet consists mostly of grass, bulbs, and roots, but they will occasionally scavenge for meat scraps. Who would have thought? An Unsightly Summary of The Ugly 5 A new book by Julia Donaldson is always a thrilling event for a primary-school librarian. Her books - the best-known of which is The Gruffalo - are guaranteed crowd pleasers, easy and fun to read aloud. They are often used by our key stage 1 teachers as the basis for a term’s project work. She is also one of those rare picture-book authors whose name the children recognise, and they are genuinely excited when she publishes a new book. Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! My novel THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. I have just finished writing a novel for teenagers.

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. Donaldson’s story does not quite have the high level of imagination that we have come to know, but this does allow Scheffler’s illustrations to shine even more than usual. Fans of his work will already know the style and it is reflected again here. The bonus is that Scheffler is drawing real wildlife and he does it brilliantly. The Ugly Five are all given a personality, whilst still not being the most pretty to look at. The (blue) wildebeests are popular for the great migration in Africa, as they can be witnessed moving in groups of thousands of individuals. They are herbivores and thus in the drier months, like any other animal has to go there where food and water can be provided in abundance. Their powerful jaws can crush the bones of some of Africa’s largest animals, and their strong stomach acid makes easy work of any meal. Hyenas will eat almost anything, including hoofs and bones. Think of some speech / thought bubbles to add to the illustrations. What are the animals saying / thinking?The ugly five include the wildebeest, marabou stork, warthog, vultures, and the spotted hyena. IMPOSSIBLE FIVE. The plains of the savannah are home to some of the world’s most majestic creatures, but this is not a book about them. This is a book about the other animals that don’t always get the limelight; the dumpy, the lumpy and the smelly. When five less than pretty animals get together they all decide that they are the ugliest creatures around. Can anyone love a face as hideous as theirs? Some sources single out the lappet-faced vulture as the vulture’s representative in the Ugly 5. Although most of Africa’s 11 vulture species could make the cut – none are blessed with particularly good looks. Everyone enjoyed hearing about the Marabou stork, which poos on its legs - apparently to cool itself down - and there was fascination about exactly what the meat was that the hyena and the vulture were eating. One nature-documentary watching child thought that the answer would not please the wildebeest.

There would be lots of ways to incorporate The Ugly Five into teaching. It would fit beautifully into any topic work on Africa or animals, particularly looking at how animals are suited to their habitats and the idea of food chains - both the vulture and the hyena are seen scavenging - and also how animals grow. But have you ever consider giving your time to other non-big 5 animals like a giraffe, or a hippo?. Of course, they definitely look much bigger than a lion or a leopard, isn’t it?. So why are they not in the big five? Their faces are pointy with strange-looking snouts, and their tusks aren’t exactly pretty. Then there’s their leathery skin which is peppered with exactly the wrong amount of coarse hair. Pregnancies for female wildebeests last for approximately 8.5 months. They give birth in middle of herd.

Multibuys

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”. 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.

Edward listened carefully and wisely pronounced: “It’s good that they don’t care what they look like, but I prefer The Gruffalo.”If you’re heading for the bush , the winter months (May to September) offer cooler temperatures and less greenery, which means animals can be seen more easily. Marabou storks are also attracted to grass fires, and will move in front of an advancing fire to grab fleeing animals. 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. Find all of the rhyming words in the book. Can you make your own rhyming dictionary using some of the words?