The Meerkat Wars: Resources
UK National Literacy Strategies IB Primary Years Programme
US Common Core State Standards
It’s all very well helping a young meerkat who’s been poisoned by a scorpion…
…but when you’ve made friends with the whole Duwara tribe of meerkats, and you discover that they’re at war with the Utongo, you may find yourself involved in that too, even if you’re only a little black-and-white cat.
And when you realise that the two tribes are fighting because each one believes it lives under The One True Sun, then you may have to undertake a very dangerous journey to help them see things differently.
You may have to go through The Gorge…
“This is a book for all ages. It is thought-provoking and both humorous and serious. It carries some important messages but carries them lightly.” (Amazon review, November 2011)
“Overall…an excellent adventure book for Middle School readers.” TCM Reviews, December 2011
“The characters are quirky and loveable, especially Sheena. The writing is flawless and creative.” Ella Bella Reviews, December 2011
“A wonderful middle-grade book!” Books Are My Friends Review, December 2011
“Tackles the serious issues of bias and prejudice with gentleness and sensitivity.” D. W. Carper, Amazon Reviewer, December 2011
“The Meerkat Wars isn't a read to be ignored." Midwest Book Review, January 2012
“What makes this book so refreshing to read to children or to share with young adults…is the high quality of prose delivered through the pen of Toshack. This book entertains, but it also respects intelligence at every level.” Grady Harp, Amazon Top 30 Reviewer, December 2011
“The Meerkat Wars deserves to become an animal classic.” Allison’s Book Bag Reviews, January 2012
“I loved the creativity of the story… The Meerkat Wars is one of those interesting, fun books that everyone should read, even if you hate to read (which I think is crazy!)…If I was asked to read any sequels to this book I would jump at the chance. All I can say is GREAT job!” 10-year old Gisele, February 2012, in a wholly independent review at http://teddyree-theeclecticreader.blogspot.com
Resources
To view a sample chapter and the teaching resources designed to help young readers explore it fully, click on the following link:
Four full versions of the Teaching and Learning Resources are available for free download. Click on the link below to any version you wish to access. (For quicker initial viewing, open the pdf version.) Problems? Questions? Suggestions? Get in touch: wordsmith@clix.pt
Please note that since the Word files are quite large they may take some time to download. If a Word file opens as 'Read Only', save it to your computer under a different name. If you have difficulty downloading a file, right-click on the link and select 'Save Target As'.
o Teaching Copy (pdf): Download
o Teaching Copy (Word): Download
o Student Copy (Word, allowing space for student responses): Download
o Student Copy (Word, condensed, for use when students have separate workbooks): Download
(If you intend to use the materials only for your own reference you may find it helpful to have the .pdf version - to which no changes can be made - so that you always have an intact set. If, however, you would like to be able to modify the resources so that they better match your own needs, to print them out only in part, or to incorporate them into your own teaching materials, then you will find that the Word versions provide that kind of flexibility.)
Themes and Topics
o Survival
o Animal (and human) nature
o How things work
o The importance (and fun) of language
o Humour
o Belonging
o Personal and group identity
o Names
o Friendship
o Parenthood
o How societies organise themselves
o How older members of a community are regarded
o Divided loyalties
o Rituals
o Beliefs and their impact on how we behave
o Becoming whatever we want to be
o Competitions and rules
o Negotiations and agreements
o How conflict arises between groups
o Cruelty and kindness
o Responsibility for our actions
o Territoriality
o Militarism
o Economic principles
o History, the past and the future
o Reconciliation
Illustrations
Please note that copyright to the illustrations is held by PakaMdogo Press. Use of the illustrations is allowed for educational purposes only (within schools which have purchased copies of the book), or for private purposes. The illustrations must not be copied to any public medium.
Right-click on a link, then 'Save Target As' to download and save the illustration, which you will then be able to print out as you wish:
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Chapter One |
Page 9 |
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Chapter Fourteen |
Page 124 |
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Chapter Two |
Page 11 |
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Chapter Fifteen |
Page 129 |
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Chapter Two |
Page 17 |
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Chapter Sixteen |
Page 134 |
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Chapter Three |
Page 31 |
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Chapter Seventeen |
Page 138 |
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Chapter Four |
Page 38 |
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Chapter Eighteen |
Page 143 |
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Chapter Five |
Page 51 |
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Chapter Nineteen |
Page 150 |
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Chapter Six |
Page 56 |
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Chapter Nineteen |
Page 156 |
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Chapter Seven |
Page 70 |
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Chapter Twenty |
Page 160 |
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Chapter Eight |
Page 76 |
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Chapter Twenty |
Page 166 |
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Chapter Eight |
Page 83 |
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Chapter Twenty-One |
Page 177 |
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Chapter Nine |
Page 91 |
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Chapter Twenty-Two |
Page 184 |
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Chapter Ten |
Page 96 |
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Chapter Twenty-Three |
Page 190 |
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Chapter Eleven |
Page 104 |
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Chapter Twenty-Four |
Page 198 |
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Chapter Twelve |
Page 109 |
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Map |
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Chapter Thirteen |
Page 113 |
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Sheena Portrait |
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