The Ugly Five

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Marabous are scavengers eating anything from termites, flamingoes, and small birds and mammals to human refuse and dead elephants. They also feed on carcasses with other scavengers such as vultures and hyenas. 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. The Ugly Five’ (2017) is a short, lovely, simple but effective and affecting story – the latest from the accomplished team of writer Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler – who provides the usual and wonderful illustrations to accompany the compelling rhyming words of Donaldson. Warthogs are normally found in family groups, where they spend most of their time either looking for food or wallowing in the mud at waterholes. At night they shelter in burrows, entering tail first.

They feast on carrion that could otherwise spread pathogens and they break through the tough hides of carcasses, making them more accessible to weaker scavengers. 2. Vulture They’re perhaps the most infamous scavengers of all, and they’re very good at what they do. In fact, they clear up to 70% of the carrion in Africa, helping prevent the spread of disease in animals and humans. 3. Wildebeest 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? Would this be a good book to read aloud to the class or would it be good for Shared or guided reading? I've included some templates again this week. I'm not expecting you to do them like this, but I know some of you like a worksheet. Hope this helps some of you.

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Sure, they have a rather odd posture, an unflattering grin, and a slightly sinister face. Their portrayal in The Lion King didn’t do much for their reputation either. But hyenas are hardly hideous, and their cubs are even particularly cute. Come and visit a prime game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal where you can witness these animals in the wild, including more than 200 bird species and a massive variety of flora.

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. Edward listened carefully and wisely pronounced: “It’s good that they don’t care what they look like, but I prefer The Gruffalo.”

An Unsightly Summary of The Ugly 5

Before Malcolm and I had our three sons we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta. 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. Find all of the rhyming words in the book. Can you make your own rhyming dictionary using some of the words? This book sits on two nerves and therefore loses a star. Nominated for the Washington State Children's Choice award, this book requires that the students know about he Big 5 and possibly the Little 5 and therefore the Shy 5. It also requires that the librarian endures rhyming couplets and the kids endure her singing the sing song verses... not winning me over. These requirements are really just my needs. Meiner Nichte gefällt dieses Buch sehr - und mir auch. Die Geschichte ist süß und die bilder sind schön gemalt.

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 Due to the rhyming nature of the story it is a great read aloud book. The repetition allows the children to join in with any repeated refrains and encourages them to notice and predict the rhyming words at the end of each sentence. Therefore could be used with Nursery children or lower Key Stage 1. There are strong PSHE messages about celebrating everyone as they are and not judging on appearance. Many of the children commented on how important it was to love everyone, no matter what they look like. The book would also be a good starting point for a discussion on family and love within the family. As a faith school, we could then expand this further to discuss the concept of how we are all unique and yet loved by God.

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. Look through the story and sort some of the words that the author uses to describe the animals (e.g. ugly, spindly, graceful, divine). Which ones are positive and which are negative? Think of some speech / thought bubbles to add to the illustrations. What are the animals saying / thinking? It is easy to overlook smaller creatures while on a safari as we are normally on the lookout for the famous Big Five game animals, but this isn’t Africa’s only famous collection of animals to be seen. Allow us to introduce to you Africa’s less glamorous animals, the warthog, hyena, marabou stork, vulture, and the wildebeest, also, unfortunately, known as The Ugly Five. Although these animals aren’t eye-catching, they all have something unique and fascinating to offer.