So They Build - Meerkats

Meerkats are certainly charismatic. Their sentinel behaviour makes them different from other animals. Whenever we do a display of meerkat books, the books leave the library very quickly. The students that use our school library live near the zoo and visit it frequently. It has a meerkat enclosure that they are always keen to visit.

Meerkats live in groups called mobs. Living in a mob helps the meerkats to find food, protect themselves and look after their young. All meerkats in a mob help with the work. Individuals have different skills that can help a group.They are constantly on the lookout for animals that may attack their mob, such as eagles and hawks. When they spot an enemy, they may scurry into their underground burrows or attack! 

Meerkats are skilled builders, crafting intricate tunnel systems beneath the earth. This network of tunnels is an intricate feat of engineering. The tunnels are used as sleeping quarters, safe nurseries for their young and refuge from the extreme heat, the harsh desert elements and predators.

There are few animals that work together as well as meerkats. When it comes to getting things done, meerkats know that teamwork is the way to go. Families of these furry little critters often live together, forming communities of up to fifty members. They protect other group members by taking turns being a lookout and scanning the area for danger. Everyone in the mob participates in gathering food, keeping a look out for predators, and taking care of the babies. 

This week these books were on display, but then all were borrowed.

And some stories:

And the most popular, but always missing in action:

For the chapter book enthusiasts, look for these series

So They Build - Bees

Bees build their hives using wax from their bodies, shaped into 6-sided cells where honey and eggs are stored for protection. Aren't they clever? 

There are so many wonderful picture books about bees and they just keep coming!

These are just a few that I particularly like - 

• Look Inside the World of Bees by Emily Bone and John Claude

• The Secret Life of Bees  by Moira Butterfield and Vivian Mineker

• The World of Bees by Christina Banfi and Guilia De Amicis

• Honey Bees Close Up  by Charles Hope

• The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive  by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen

• The Beeman  by Laurie Krebs and Valeria Cis

• Bees A Honeyed History  by Piotr Sacha

• The Bee Book by Charlotte Milner

 • Bee by Brittany Teckentrup

• The Honeybee  by Kirsten Hall and Isabelle Arsenault

• The Beehive  by Jory John

There's even more to explore here.

Don't forget native bees and Australian bees:

• The Beehive by Megan Daly and Max Hamilton

• Bee Detectives  by Vanessa Ryan-Rendall and Brenna Quinlan

There's even more to explore here.

Don't forget native bees and Australian bees:

• The Beehive by Megan Daly and Max Hamilton

• Bee Detectives  by Vanessa Ryan-Rendall and Brenna Quinlan

Animal builders and architects...so they build

There's two large display areas in the library and now one is sorted with Camelids, I've been thinking about the other one. I have thought about a bowerbird display to go with ALIA's National Simultaneous Storytime's book Bowerbird Blues by Aura Parker, which is coming up in May, but really we don't have enough books unless I expand it to include everything blue or go off tangentially. I began to think about how many animals are fantastic builders and / or architects and who they are.

I've decided upon

• beavers

• bowerbirds

• weaverbirds

• termites

• bees

• wasps

• spiders

• meerkats

This will expand the display and offer a wider variety of reading for the students. This idea came from this book which I took off the shelf because it has a bowerbird on its cover.

• We Build Our Homes by Laura Knowles and Chris Madden

Each spread looks at a different animal, told as though from their viewpoint and using poetic, evocative language. The 25 amazing animal architects featured include bower birds and weaver birds, gophers and beavers, termites, honey bees, and many more.

I will accompany this book with others such as

• Animal Architects  by Julio Antonio Blasco and Daniel Nassar

Each spread contains a beautiful, colorful illustration of each animal and its home, plus a unique fold-out information panel, with stats and a simple architectural diagram showcasing the creation of the 'architect'. Look inside chimpanzee nests, beaver dams, termite mounds, stork nests and many more.

• If Animals Built Your House by Bill Wise and Rebecca Evans

The reader gets to live alongside animals in their wild and wacky homes. From foam-nest tree frogs and mound termites, to alligators and pack rats, readers can see how similar and very different animal and human homes can be. 

• How Animals Build by Moira Butterfield and Tim Hutchinson

An  illustrated lift-the-flap hardback that explores the incredible world of animal architects. Children can open flaps and unfold spreads to discover amazing animal homes up high, underground, on land, and under the sea. From spider webs and rabbit warrens, to bird nests and ant colonies, and even coral reefs and beaver lodges, we reveal the secrets to these extraordinary structures and how they're built. 

• Built by Animals  by Christiane Dorion and Yeti Yun

Meet 26 animals who have inspired the materials and techniques that are used by humans in the building world today.

• Sticks and Stones Animal Homes   by Tai Snaith

Find out where 15 animals make their homes in countries around the world. Some weave, some burrow, some build and some just get lucky. Which house would you most like to share? 

• Animal Architects by Amy Cherrix and Chris Sasaki

Did you know the natural world is a construction zone? All over Earth, on land and at sea, animals are building the most amazing things. From tricky trapdoors to undersea cities to palaces of pebbles and more

•  Animal Architects  by Libby Romero

Ever wondered why beavers build dams? Or how spiders weave their intricate webs? In this reader, you'll meet brilliant birds inventive insects, and amazing mammals that all share a special skill. Packed with beautiful and engaging photos, this leveled reader introduces kids to the most extreme engineers of the animal kingdom.

• Builders  by Raina Ollivier, Karel Claes and Steffi Padmos

There are animals that prefer to live alone and others that live in groups.Animals build nests, dig tunnels, build roads and dams, and webs.Discover the amazing beaver, cross spider, sociable weaver, termite, stork, meerkat, honeybee, Japanese pufferfish, and mole. See who these special builders are!

Then any book about individual animals and what they build I will also include. Some you might have are:

• The Lodge that Beaver Built by Randi Sonenshine and Anne Hunter

• Mama Built a Little Nest  by Jennifer Ward and Steve Jenkins

• Mama Built a Little Den by Jennifer Ward and Steve Jenkins

• Building by Henry Cole

• Nesting  by Henry Cole

• Bird Builds a Nest by Martin Jenkins and Richard Jones 

• This is the Nest that Robin Built by Denise Fleming

• Home Is ... by Hannah Barnaby and Frann Preston Gannon

• All Kinds of Nests by Eun-gyu Choi and Ji-yeon  Kim

• And So they Build by Bert Kitchen 

• A Wasp Builds a Nest  by Kate Scarborough and Martin Camm

• The Burrow Book by Richard Orr and Shaila Awan

The display at school: