The PTA had another Scholastic Book Fair on Tuesday, and I came across this book called "The Naked Mole-Rat Letters." It sounded like it might be fun to read, and who could resist a title like that? We had actually talked about Naked Mole Rats during dinner one night in Wamba. A couple members of our group had seen dirt flying out of a hole in the ground and were wondering what kind of animal might have been doing the digging. One possibility was... yes, you guessed it... a naked mole rat. I left the table to go get our African Mammal Guide to see what this critter looked like. Not one of your cuter animals, but interesting nonetheless.

I've read the book, and I enjoyed it. It's a story about a girl who discovers, by snooping through his email, that her father--a widower-- has met a woman he likes while on a business trip to Washington, DC. The woman is the Naked Mole Rat Keeper at the National Zoo. It was a fun read-- and aside from that, it made me think about how there must be a zookeeper for just about every animal imaginable, and made me wonder how each of them ends up with that particular animal. In the book, Ayanna (the "ratlady" as the main character refers to her), does explain how she got interested in naked mole rats when she was living in Kenya. And she provides quite a lot of facts about these animals, too!

So here's another book to add to your reading list if you are setting off on the Samburu Wildlife and Communities of Kenya expedition. You just never know when the topic of naked mole rats may come up over dinner!