Laura Marsh - National Geographic Readers: Meerkats

Children are naturally curious about the world around them, and
curiosity is a powerful motivation for reading. Studies show that
informational reading is critical to success in school. National
Geographic Readers allow you to feed your childrens interests
and create readers who not only can read, but also want to read!

To sustain childrens excitement about reading, we have created
a new program called NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SUPER READERS.
As kids read each National Geographic Reader, they cross off its
picture on a free National Geographic Super Readers poster that
parents can download from kids.nationalgeographic.com/superreader.

After reading four books, kids and parents go to the website and
download specially designated prizes that reward their effort. Kids
can have even more reading fun online, with lively book-related
quizzes and games, fascinating excerpts, and sneak previews of
upcoming books.

The National Geographic Super Readers program appeals to kids
love of accomplishment while providing them with incentives to
keep reading. When the reading experience is fun, children learn
more and achieve more. What could be better than that?

Sincerely,

Mariam Jean Dreher
Professor of Reading Education
University of Maryland, College Park

For Matthew and ElizaL.F.M.

The publisher and author gratefully acknowledge the expert review of this book by
Peter Santema of the University of Cambridge and the Kalahari Meerkat Project.

Copyright 2013 National Geographic Society
Published by the National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C. 20036. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4263-1342-4
Library ISBN: 978-1-4263-1343-1
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4263-1385-1

Book design by YAY! Design

Photo credits
Cover, Beverly Joubert/National Geographic Stock; 1, Evan Chu/National Geographic My Shot; 2, Graham Smith/National Geo
graphic Your Shot; 45, Flickr RF/Getty Images; 6, Renato Pejkovic/Shutterstock; 7, Jason Finlay/National Geographic My Shot;
8, Mattias Klum/National Geographic/Getty Images; 10, Mattias Klum/National Geographic Stock; 11 (UP), Anthony West/
National Geographic My Shot; 11 (UPCTR), vblinov/Shutterstock; 11 (LOCTR), Jared Offutt/National Geographic My Shot; 11 (LO),
formiktopus/Shutterstock; 12, Simon King/naturepl.com; 13, Martin Harvey/Getty Images; 14, Martin Harvey/Kimball Stock; 15,
Susan McConnell/National Geographic My Shot; 16, Tim Jackson/Getty Images; 17, Mattias Klum/National Geographic Stock;
1819, Marguerite Smits Van Oyen/naturepl.com; 20, Solvin Zankl/naturepl.com; 21, Simon King/naturepl.com; 22, Chaikovs
kiy Igor/Shutterstock; 22 (UPLE), Renato Pejkovic/Shutterstock; 22 (UPRT), Colette3/Shutterstock; 22 (LO), John Antoniadis/
National Geographic Your Shot; 23 (UP), Andalucia Plus Image bank/Alamy; 23 (LOLE), Heinrich van den Berg/Getty Images; 23
(LORT), Vincent Grafhorst/Foto Natura/Minden Pictures; 23 (LOCTR), Maslov Dmitry/Shutterstock; 24, Jack Bishop/Alamy; 25,
Mattias Klum/National Geographic Stock; 2627, Martin Harvey/Gallo Images/Getty Images; 2829, AnetaPics/Shutterstock;
30 (LE), Martin Hughes/National Geographic My Shot; 30 (RT), Jared Offutt/National Geographic My Shot; 31 (UPLE), Martin
Harvey/Getty Images; 31 (UPRT), Sharon Carone/National Geographic My Shot; 31 (LOLE), vblinov/Shutterstock; 31 (LORT), Tony
Britton/National Geographic My Shot; 32 (UPLE), Donald Healy/National Geographic My Shot; 32 (UPRT), Vincent Grafhorst/
Foto Natura/Minden Pictures; 32 (LOLE), Renato Pejkovic/Shutterstock; 32 (LORT), Daryl Balfour/Gallo Images/Getty Images;
top borders and Wild Word boxes, Shutterstock

They have fun, just like you.
They work, play, and rest, too.

They dig in the sand
and lie in the sun.
Most often youll find
more than one!

What are they? Meerkats!

Meerkats are funny to look at.
Sometimes they stand on their back
legs. Their paws hang down in front.

Meerkats belong to the mongoose
family. They live in the desert.
It is hot and dry there.

Wild Word

MONGOOSE: A furry
animal with a long
body and tail. It lives
in Africa and Asia.

yellow mongoose

A meerkats home is
under the ground.
It is called a burrow.

Long tunnels lead to
rooms. Meerkats
sleep in the burrow
at night.

Wild Word

BURROW: A hole or
tunnel that an animal
digs to use as a home

What do you call a meerkat
at the North Pole?

Lost!

Meerkats eat many
things. Their favorite
foods are beetles
and scorpions
( SKOR - pee - uns ).
They like lizards
and grubs, too.

scorpion

beetle

lizard

grubs

How do meerkats find most of
their food? They dig for it!