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 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. Draw a map showing Handa’s route to see Akeyo and add pictures which shows the events which took place along the way. What surprises have people organised for you? Can you think of a nice surprise that you could arrange for somebody else?

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: 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 Collect some fruit and vegetable into a basket and draw it. What colours / textures will you need to show? 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. 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? 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. 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?

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