The Girl and the Aardvark

Maya spends every day asking questions, and one warm evening she sits on her back steps wondering what goes on outside while she sleeps. That night a scratching sound wakes her, and she steps into the moonlight in her jacket and red sneakers to meet a wrinkly creature with long rabbit-like ears, strong claws, a thick tail and a small blue neckerchief digging by the garden fence. He tells her he is an aardvark in search of termites.

Kneeling on the grass, Maya fills her notebook as the aardvark shows his long sticky tongue and explains how his claws open termite mounds. He describes why the night suits him and how owls and bats find their way in the dark, and he reminds Maya that her own curiosity matters too. This gentle tale by Çınar BİBER can be read on Masalcı Baba, and it introduces young readers to nocturnal animals, food chains and careful observation.