Handa's Surprise

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Handa's Surprise is a book about a Kenyan girl (Handa) who visits her friend with a basket full of seven different fruits as presents. Along the way to Akeyo's village, Handa contemplates which fruit Akeyo will like the best. However, each time Handa thinks about a certain fruit an animal pops along and takes that particular fruit. For example a monkey steals the banana. Unaware that various animals have taken these tropical fruits, Handa contiunes along her journey, at which point a goat bumps into a tree and a bunch of tangerines fall into Handa's basket. Much to Handa's Surprise Tangerines are Akeyo's favourite fruit. As she carries the basket on her head to her friends house, various animals steal the fruits, piece by piece but an accident results in her arriving with a basket full of tangerines which are incidentally Akeyo's favourite fruit. Draw a map showing Handa’s route to see Akeyo and add pictures which shows the events which took place along the way. Rewrite the story from Handa’s point of view. What does she think happened to the original fruit in her basket? Are you looking for activities to support reading ‘Handa’s Surprise’ with your children? We have so many for you to try! We’ve teamed up with Walker Books to bring you a wealth of learning resources that will enhance their understanding of the story. You could combine all these resources together and plan an entire cross-curricular topic all based on this lovely story. What is the story of Handa’s Surprise about?

Explore Eileen Browne's sequel with Handa's Hen Activities for Early Years Children. What is Handa's Surprise?

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Retell the story in the form of a storyboard with captions and speech bubbles for each character / animal. This activity is based on the popular book by Eileen Browne, Handa’s Surprise. This colourful book tells the story of a young girl, Handa, who wants to take a basket of delicious fruits to her friend. Read the story, then have a look at this fun fruit printing activity. One day, Handa takes a basket of seven yummy fruits to her friend, Akeyo, who lives in a neighbouring village. She is sure this will be a lovely surprise for her friend and, on her walk to the village, she imagines which fruit Akeyo would like best. The story is based in south-west Kenya. Can you find this on a map? Can you find out more about the country? How is it similar / different to where you live? Watch this travel guide about Kenya for some ideas:

Handa is carrying a basket of fruit to her friend Akeyo. She is carrying it on her head and doesn’t notice that animals she is passing are taking fruit out of the basket. Eventually the basket becomes empty but an antelope chasing her runs in to a tree as Handa walks beneath it and fills the basket with tangerines. When Handa reaches Akeyo with her surprise she is surprised herself. The story is full of questions. Look at the use of question marks in the story. Can you write your own questions and put a question mark in the correct place? In the story Handa’s Surprise, written by Eileen Browne, we follow a little girl named Handa, who belongs to the Luo tribe in south-west Kenya. It has lovely illustrations and could be used to introduce children to different types of fruit or animals as part of an art or geography lesson.

Try to make a similar story where a child organises a surprise for somebody else, but there is a surprise for them at the end of the story. Based on the latest guidance for reception, this topic planning web provides a range of exciting activities for all seven Areas of Learning. These ideas will enhance your provision and help your children explore the story and extend their skills and knowledge at the same time. There are suggestions here both for adult-led sessions and for continuous provision.