Meerkat mayhem by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

Another keeper from Mem Fox and Judy Horacek, the duo who produced the popular Where is the green sheep?  (now celebrating its 20th anniversary), Meerkat mayhem is sure to be a hit with young children. It is a wonderful cumulative story about a meerkat who loves to eat but gets stuck in his burrow, and although many animals including an elephant try to pull him out, he stays stuck until Bird arrived making the last little bit of effort. Fox says that she 'always loved cumulative poems like The house that Jack built and folktales such as The great big enormous turnip and Meerkat Mayhem will join those in popularity.

The narrative is hilarious. Fox sets the scene with the first sentence: 'Meerkat was famous for loving his food.' And young children will be able to guess what happens next. The array of animals who try unsuccessfully to pull him out include a strong elephant, a giraffe, a zebra, a monkey finally culminating with a tiny bird, all tugging on each other to add extra strength to the pull. The funny asides by the animals and Meerkat’s sarcastic replies add to the humour.

Horacek’s illustrations perfectly complement the narrative. The picture of the animals, on a double page spread will make readers giggle with the giraffe’s long neck stretched backwards, the zebra tugging on it’s tail and the monkey face showing its enjoyment.

As well as being a fabulous story to read aloud, Meerkat Mayhem would be a wonderful story for beginning readers to try for themselves. The repetition of the refrain will add to the enjoyment:
and they pulled
And they pulled,
And they pulled
But could they pull Meerkat out to that burrow?
No, they could not!

And children will be able to remember each of the animals, aiding by the illustrations, helping them with the text, which after many readings will have them remembering all the words to the story.

Like Where is the green sheep? Meerkat Mayhem is likely to become a classic, kept in a family and handed down to the next generation. Readers may like to read others by this talented duo including Ducks away and Bonnie and Ben rhyme again.

Themes: Culminative story, Meerkats, Animals, Humour.

Pat Pledger