MEERKAT MADNESS

Meerkat adventures in the Kalahari Desert.

Uncle Fearless used to be the king of the Sharpeyes, but after an unfortunate run-in with an eagle owl, the Silent Enemy, he was demoted to baby sitter. His three charges, Mimi, Little Dream and Skeema, are ready for their first visit Upworld. They’ve been raised on tales of Uncle Fearless’ adventures during his Glory Days, when he was among the Blah-blah Tribes (humans): tales of the Ooolooks, the Whevubins and the Click-clicks, not to mention their huge, scary Vroom-vrooms. When Fearless and the young ones venture up, the young trio find the rest of the Sharpeyes don’t think much of Fearless. So when they find a pink, elephant-shaped case full of Blah-blah artifacts, they decide to cross the desert to return it. Will they survive Vroom-vrooms, the return of the Silent Enemy and bands of hostile meerkats to find the pointed anthills of the Blah-blahs? Britain’s Awesome Animals series penned by several stars of British children’s literature comes to America. Each author creates adventures starring a different species; publishing simultaneously are Jeanne Willis’ Penguin Pandemonium, Jamie Rix’s Panda Panic and Andrew Cope’s Raccoon Rampage. Prolific funnyman Whybrow’s first of four (so far) meerkat adventures is a goofy mix of misunderstandings and mayhem with black-and-white spot illustrations by Hearn that add to the fun.

An associated website and club extend the goofy fun.