Are you looking for activities to support reading ‘Handa’s Surprise’ with your children? We’ve teamed up with Walker Books to bring you a wealth of learning resources. You could combine these resources together and plan a whole topic based on this lovely story. Here are just a few to get you started: Created in collaboration with the book’s publisher, Walker Books, this EYFS Reception Topic Planning Web: Handa’s Surprise is a perfect resource for practitioners who are planning work around this wonderful book.

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. This book encapsulates the idea that ‘less is more’. The simple text and the descriptive pictures, are what I believe are the key features that lend to the brilliance of this book.

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Handa carries seven delicious fruits to her friend Akeyo as a surprise But thanks to some hungry animals she meets along the way it's Handa who's in for a surprise! --cover Handa’s Surprise is beautifully illustrated book for children in nurseries and reception classes. The story is set in a village in Africa, and the pictures are bold, traditional and bright coloured to capture the imaginations of little ones. This book can be used to cover a range of subjects across the early years curriculum e.g. numeracy (counting animals, fruits), art (drawing fruits, make displays), geography (discussed exotic fruits, wild animals, Africa), knowledge and understanding of the world (habitats, traditional clothes, culture), science (taste fruits, healthy eating). 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: 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?

Retell the story in the form of a storyboard with captions and speech bubbles for each character / animal. 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. Handa's Surprise is a lovely story by Eileen Browne about a girl who wants to treat her friends to delicious fruit but her plans go awry as several pesky different animals steal the fruit from her basket! A monkey takes the banana, an ostrich the guava, a zebra the orange, an elephant the mango, a giraffe the pineapple, an antelope the avocado and a parrot the passion fruit. Collect some fruit and vegetable into a basket and draw it. What colours / textures will you need to show? 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.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?

The book ‘Handa’s Surprise’ by Eileen Browne tells the story of a girl named Handa, who decides to take seven tasty fruits in a basket to her good friend, Akeyo. However, along the way, the fruits in her basket are eaten one by one by some cheeky animals – a monkey, an ostrich, a zebra, an elephant, a giraffe, an antelope and a parrot. 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. Explore Eileen Browne's sequel with Handa's Hen Activities for Early Years Children. What is Handa's Surprise? Handa puts seven different delicious fruits in a basket to take to her friend Akeyo as a surprise. But Handa’s walk takes her past a variety of animals, and the fruits do look very inviting...”The book uses relatively simple language and could probably be read independently by a six or seven year old. This said, it uses a variety of punctuation marks which could possibly used as a platform for a more advanced lesson. You could also use these Handa's Surprise resources to help children think about the importance of determination, friendship, and kindness; all qualities which Handa shows off very well. Try getting children to write their own stories about these qualities, maybe even using the new vocabulary they've learnt. What is Handa's Surprise about? 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. The ideas in this wonderful EYFS Reception Topic Planning Web: Handa’s Surprise will be perfect for you if you're looking for enjoyable and engaging learning activities for your reception children based on this much-loved book.

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. The children in nursery found the book quite funny as all these animals were able to steal fruit from Handa without her even realising: ‘silly Handa!’ It is accessible as a video story, which is even more enjoyable and engaging given the moving visuals and sounds 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. 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. What surprises have people organised for you? Can you think of a nice surprise that you could arrange for somebody else?Draw a map showing Handa’s route to see Akeyo and add pictures which shows the events which took place along the way. The book ‘Handa’s Surprise’ by Eileen Browne tells the story of a girl named Handa, who decides to take seven tasty fruits in a basket to her good friend, Akeyo. However, along the way, the fruits in her basket are eaten one by one by some cheeky animals – a monkey, an ostrich, a zebra, an elephant, a giraffe, an antelope and a parrot. There’s one final twist to the story which involves a goat and some tangerines! Here are a few resources you can use to whip up some educational activities based around the story: This book tells the story of Handa and her friend Akeyo. At the beginning of the story Handa puts seven different fruits in her basket to take to her friend Akeyo. As Handa makes her way to Akeyo’s village she tries to imagine which fruit Akeyo would like best. Every time Handa describes each of the fruits in her basket; an animal native to Handa’s part of the world takes it out of the basket. Eventually when Handa’s basket becomes empty a goat breaks free from its rope and runs in to a tangerine tree which results in the tangerines falling in to Handa’s basket. Still unaware Handa arrives at Akeyo’s village telling her that she has a surprise for her. When she takes the basket of her head Handa is the one who is surprised as her basket which originally had 7 different fruits is now full of tangerines