Meerkat Christmas by Aura Parker

Ten meerkats playfully introduce a host of words and activities associated with Christmas. Number one comes ready to play, two and three jump out of Christmas boxes, cheeky elves, four pops out of a cracker, five has a red nose like Rudolph, six comes along with tricks while seven lights up the Christmas tree, eight needs a prod to wake him up, nine slides down the tinsel while ten brings along the star for the top of the tree. Each time another meerkat appears, they attempt to clamber on top of each other to make a tree, with limited and wobbly success. The appearance of number ten means they are ready for another attempt and while their meerkat tree holds for a while, someone scratches their tum, and another sneezes and yet another sucks their thumb, leading to them all collapsing on the floor in a meerkat heap.

Fun to be had by all as number one tickles them all. A cheery story about that perennial favourite, the meerkat, will delight young readers, especially involving Christmas themes. A lot of ideas about how we spend Christmas are given here, reinforcing the trappings of Christmas: tree, tinsel, Christmas presents, star on top of the tree, Christmas lights and so on. A funny introduction to discussions about Christmas in the classroom.

Themes: Christmas, Meerkats, Animals, Rhyming text, Humour, Celebrations.

Fran Knight