The Ugly Five

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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. Their preferred habitat is open grasslands, with their renowned seasonal migration being an optimised survival strategy giving them access to and use of resources over huge areas, minimising over-grazing during both wet and dry seasons. I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs. Donaldson crafts poetry that is fun to read, changing things up to introduce each animal and then welcome into the growing group. I need to find someone to read this out loud with. I can see reading this with a data projector so that the kids can sing along with me. 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.

If you’ve been on safari you’ll probably be aware of ‘the big five’ of buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion, and rhino. You may also be aware of the little five, or small five animals– rhinoceros beetle, buffalo weaver, elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, and the antlion. This time the story is about some animals in the Savannah who are, shall we say? Less than attractive. They’re an unusual looking bird, bald-headed with wisps of hair, perhaps worthy of their addition to the ugly five. They have a wingspan of 2.6 meters and a height of 1.5 meters. Interesting maribou stork fact: they have hollow leg and feet bones, an adaptation to help them fly Think of some speech / thought bubbles to add to the illustrations. What are the animals saying / thinking? 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”.Yet for better or worse, these five have earned themselves an unfortunate place in the official Ugly Five listing. 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.

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. There are three species of hyena in the Hyaenidae family. Namely, the striped hyena, brown hyena, and spotted hyena. The lesser-known aardwolf is an additional member in the same family. 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.Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler go together like bread and butter. They really are a very well-matched duo and their work is loved the world over for good reason. 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.

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. So why didn’t I like it as much as her other books? I think there wasn’t enough plot to keep the story moving along. I read it to six groups of key stage 1 children, and the Year 2s were definitely a bit twitchy. The rhyme is incredibly clever, but there is a lot of it and so for a picture book it is quite wordy. Also, there was no dramatic tension. In The Gruffalo, we are worried that the mouse will be eaten, in Room in the Broom, the witch needs to be rescued and in Tiddler, the protagonist needs to get home. But in The Ugly Five, there are five animals out for a walk and then they meet their children. The hyena family includes four species: the Striped, the Brown and the Spotted hyena, and the Aardwolf.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.” 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. 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.

Their unfortunate looks have earned them a spot in this classification, despite being fascinating birds. Marabous can eat anything, including termites, flamingos and small birds, mammals, and even human refuse and dead elephants. They often share carcasses with other scavengers like vultures or hyenas. Hyenas can adapt to almost any habitat and are found in grasslands, woodlands, savannas, forest edges, sub-deserts, and mountains. The book is intriguing because it teaches children about the importance of being kind to each other and working well together as a team, and not to be worried about what others think about you. 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. 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.The Ugly Five’’ is a lovely book that combines some hidden education with an uplifting story. The narrative is a simple one; you meet a particular creature and observe their features and then they meet another similarly ugly pal. This goes on until the titular five are together. If this had been the entire plot, the story would have been too dry for most young people as there is almost an educational quality as you learn about the animals. However, this is not all the story. The surprise ending of the book is what makes it and leaves you feeling all warm inside as everyone is pretty to someone.