Written and Illustrated By: Emily Gravett
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Copyright: 2006
Number of Pages: 32
Genre: International
The illustrations in this book are very precise and what I would call "shaded". They seem to be pencil drawn or water color painted, and are done so that the reader can feel each mood of the meerkat as he travels from place to place.
Grade: 3rd
Content Area: English Language Arts
Standard: Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events. [RL.3.3]
A third grade teacher could read this book aloud and then have the students read it on their own. After the book has been read, students could do a project that involves drawing pictures for each place that the meerkat visited and put them in the correct order of how it happened. This would show that they can accurately summarize the actions of the meerkat and list the correct sequence of events.
This was a very cute book that can not only be used for language arts purposes, but also serve as a good example of being content with the things you have. Many children desire to have bigger and better things because they think they are missing out. In the end, the meerkat realized that all he wanted was what he had and became more thankful for the place he lived in and the family he shared it with.
I think this is such a cute book! I really like the activity you came up with! I would definitely use that in my own classroom. I think that having the students draw pictures holds them accountable for their own learning.
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