The Ugly Five - Julia Donaldson | Axel Scheffler

'Morning had dawned on the African plain.
The lion lay grooming his glorious mane.
The kudu looked cool and the rhino looked fine.
The bright pink flamingos looked simply divine.
The zebra looked graceful; the leopard look great.

Oh what a picture of beauty - but wait!'

Who's that singing on the savannah?

It's the top-five ugly animals in Africa! The wildebeest, warthog, vulture, hyena and marabou stork swagger proudly across the savannah, rejoicing in their ugliness - and delighting their babies, who think they're perfect just the way they are.

Inspired by the real-life Ugly Five safari animals, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's brand-new picture book is a jubilant celebration of animals who are often rather unloved. The funny, heart-warming rhyme is a joy to read aloud, while bold, comical illustrations bring the savannah spectacularly to life.

It’s impossible to imagine a time before every child’s bookcase contained a sticky-finger-marked, lovingly well-read copy of The Gruffalo, so great has been the impact of former Children’s Laureate, author, poet and song-writer Julia Donaldson. Her extraordinary imagination has produced classics such as Stick Man and Room on the Broom amongst many others, making her undoubtedly the most popular author for very young children writing today.