Sunny Meerkat is hot, too hot in his Kalahari home. He’s tuckered out by the constant togetherness of his huge family. So he packs his bag and heads out to visit his mongoose relatives. Each stop takes him farther from his fam ily—but brings him closer, too. He survives mud, rains, swamps, and petrify ing dark—but he trudges on. Sunny mails postcards to his family detailing the disintegrating (to him) conditions he finds. Flip-up postcards relate more than his mood swings: details of other mongoose habits, living conditions, and even enemies. Although the conclusion is predictable, Gravett’s humor makes the trip a total pleasure. 2008 USBBY Outstanding International Books List. Author won the Kate Greenaway Medal, Macmillan Prize, and the Nestlé Bronze Award for her book Wolves . lmp

Originally published by Macmillan Children’s Books Great Britain, in 2006.

Sunny Meerkat lives in the Kalahari desert with his family. Under the hot sun, Sunny and his brothers and sisters work together, play together, eat together, learn together, and sleep together. Sunny needs a break, so he decides to take a trip to visit some relatives. Through a series of postcards--that actually flip open for children to read--Sunny documents his journey for his family. But as he travels from the barnyard through the forest to the city, Sunny realizes there's no place like home.