READY Handas Surprise Teachers Notes

W ALKER B OOKS
T EACHERS ’ N OTES
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF
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Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise. Handa’s Surprise Teachers’ Notes © 2019 Walker Books Ltd.
All Rights Reserved. Written by Just Imagine Centre for Excellence in Reading
ABOUT THE BOOK
Synopsis
Handa decides to take a basket of seven delicious fruits to her friend Akeyo. However,
as she makes her way to the next village, seven animals are unable to resist the
temptation to take her fruit. A goat on the loose ensures that her basket doesn’t remain
empty and both girls get a big surprise when Handa arrives. A classic picture book
where the text tells a different version of the narrative to the illustrations.
About the Author
Before becoming an author and illustrator, Eileen Browne worked as a schoolteacher

and youth worker. She was born and brought up in Birmingham, then lived in
London for twenty years. She now lives in Wiltshire. Her books have been praised for
representing different cultures and Handa’s Surprise was included in The Guardian’s
Top 50 Culturally Diverse Books in 2014.
Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

2 Handa’s Surprise Teachers’ Notes © 2019 Walker Books Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Written by Just Imagine Centre for Excellence in Reading walker.co.uk
E X P L O R I N G W H AT T H E
TEXT OFFERS
H ISTORICAL ,
N ARRATIVE FEATURES SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL CONTEXT
Dramatic irony as the text and L INKS TO OTHER
illustrations tell different versions TEXTS :
of the story and the reader has
an awareness of events that Handa is from
the main character does not. the Luo tribe of
south-west Kenya V OCABULARY
Repetitive structure good for oral
storytelling and as a mentor Links to Red Topic vocabulary:
text for writing Riding Hood fruit names
Topic vocabulary:
animal names
T HEMES M APPING T EXT P OTENTIAL

The challenges in the text and
Friendship
the opportunities for teaching
presented by the text G RAMMAR ;
Stealing S YNTAX
The use of ellipses

may make reading
S UBJECT the text challenging
V ISUAL FEATURES for inexperienced
A journey story. Handa takes readers.
The text and images
a basket of fruit to her friend
tell different versions
but arrives to find that the Noun phrases, e.g.
of the story
fruit has disappeared. round juicy orange
T EXT TYPE , PURPOSE M AKING LINKS TO BACKGROUND

AND INTENDED READERSHIP
KNOWLEDGE :
Picture book fiction 4 – 7 years Knowledge of fruits
Knowledge of surprise and the

distinction between good and bad surprises.
Tennent, W., Reedy, D., Gamble, N., and Hobsbaum, A. (2016)

Guiding Readers: Layers of Meaning. London: UCL/ IOE.

Handa’s Surprise Teachers’ Notes © 2019 Walker Books Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 3
walker.co.uk Written by Just Imagine Centre for Excellence in Reading
E X C I T E / O R I E N TAT I O N
S POTLIGHT ON V OCABULARY : S URPRISE !
Purpose
Background knowledge is essential for reading comprehension because readers
attach new ideas to what they already know and understand.
Preparation
Think of something that will surprise your class. You might wear something silly, let
the children have an extra playtime, blow a balloon up and let it go, make a loud
noise unexpectedly or arrange for someone to run into the classroom in a funny
way. Choose something that will work well with your class.
Process
Carry out the surprise then ask the children how they felt. They may suggest a
variety of answers, all of which will be acceptable – this is not a game of guessing
the correct answer. You do however want to lead the children to the idea that the
event you have staged is different to what we would normally expect. This is a
reference point. Write all responses down. If someone has said, ‘surprised’, highlight
the word or draw a circle around it. Now ask them to recall a time when they were
surprised by something or someone. Ideas can be recorded by drawing or writing.
Use the sentence starter; ‘I was surprised when…’
Final Reflection
• Are surprises always good?
• Do you like surprises? (not everyone does!)
F RUITS
Purpose
Background knowledge is essential for reading comprehension because readers
attach new ideas to what they already know and understand. This process gives you
the chance to assess which fruits the children are familiar with and which in the
story will be new to them.
Preparation
Copies of the Fruits Sheet
Title page of Handa’s Surprise to share
Process
Share a copy of the fruits sheet. Explain that there should be a list of seven fruits but
only the first letters are used, the other letters are missing... Can the children work
together to guess what the fruits will be using only the first letter? They can write

down more than one suggestion, providing they are using the first letter as a clue.
Share the picture on the title page which shows each fruit with its name (don’t reveal
the front page at this point).
Fruits Sheet
L ETTER F RUITS
Ask
Which fruits do they recognise?
Compare their list with the fruits in the book. Some may be the same. Which have they
eaten or heard of before?
You may want to have real examples of the fruit here, but please note the Fruit Salad
Process which comes later in the sequence includes tasting fruit.
Safety Note: If you do use real fruits, you will need to check for allergies in the class
before proceeding.
Final Reflection
Possible things to reflect on and consider with the children are:
Which of the fruits would you most like to try?
If there were unknown fruits, why do the children think they are new to them?

W HAT ’ S ON THE COVER ?
Purpose
Experienced and skilled readers ask lots of questions, internal or voiced, as they
read. Asking questions enables readers to monitor their understanding and seek
clarification. Looking closely at the front cover and questioning it enables the reader
to notice small details which may hold clues about the content of the story.
Preparation
Copies of the book or projection of the front cover using a visualiser.
Process
Front cover
Share the front cover with the children and explain that when we read we ask
ourselves questions to make sense of what we are reading. This happens when we
look at the front cover of a book.
‘Think Alouds’ are used to model comprehension processes. At this point you will
explicitly model the process of asking questions, rather than ask the children to offer
their questions. By doing this, you can reveal the thought process that has led to
asking particular questions.
Tell the children to listen to the questions that you have about the front cover. If
you have another adult available ask them to scribe the questions. If there is no
additional adult in the classroom, write as you go. Some example questions are:
• Is the basket very heavy?
• Is it easy to carry a basket on your head?
• How does the basket balance?
• What is the green fruit?
• Where might the girl be going with the fruit?
• Is she looking at something behind her?
• What is the ostrich going to do?
• Where has the banana skin come from?
When you ask the question, it is crucial to add detail to explain why you have
asked this, e.g. the basket looks very full and I know that a pineapple is very heavy
because I bought one once and had to carry it home.
Once you have asked two or three questions, give the children the opportunity to
work with a partner to formulate their own questions. Allow around 3-5 minutes
before adding their suggested questions to the list.
Final Reflection
Some of the questions have one possible answer and some have more than one.
Read one of the questions and ask the children to decide if there is only one possible
answer or more than one possible answer. Work through some examples asking the
children to explain their thinking and explaining your own.

D ISTRACTION
Purpose
Handa is distracted as she walks along thinking about which fruit Akeyo will like
best which makes it easy for the animals to steal the fruit. This game is a fun way to
put the children in Handa’s shoes so that when they read the story they may find it
easier to empathise with her.
Preparation
Bean bags
Process
One child has to cross the hall/classroom/outdoor space carrying a beanbag on their
head while reciting a nursery rhyme (Twinkle,Twinkle or Humpty Dumpty are good
choices). The rest of the group line up and and try to creep up and try to tap them
unawares. If the child notices, they turn round and the others freeze on the spot.
Once the children have got the hang of the game, organise them into smaller groups
and repeat.
Final Reflection
Ask the children to consider what made it hard to notice someone coming?
What did you have to concentrate on as you walked?
Would it have been easier without the bean bag and without having to say the
rhyme?
C LOSE L OOKING AT P ICTURES
Purpose
Handa’s Surprise is a book where the illustrations work with the text to tell the
story. The illustrations share details with the reader that the main character is
unaware of. This contradiction between text and picture gives the story dramatic
irony, where the actions of the animals are clear to the reader, but not to Handa.
This process gives practice in close looking and noticing details present in the
illustrations, which is essential for noticing the contradiction later.
Preparation
Copies of the book or a visualiser to project. Having their own copy is most helpful
for enabling readers to explore the pictures properly.
Process
Share the first illustration, covering the text. Give the children time to explore
the picture, encouraging them to share their observations with each other and the
group. Some children will enjoy looking with a partner, while others will prefer to
engage in this activity alone. Give some time for independent looking before sharing
with the class. The following prompts will help focus and develop thinking:
• What did you notice first in the picture? What does Eileen Browne want you to

see first? (It is likely that children will identify Handa. The next probe encourages
them to consider how this effect has been created).
• How has Handa been illustrated to make sure that you notice her? (Answers
should refer to her position on the page, her size and the vibrancy of the colours
used. Use supplementary prompts where needed).
• What does this tell you about Handa? (Reference the fact that she is an important
character).
• Where is this? How can you tell? What clues are there to help us work it out?
(The answer to this question will depend on the children’s experience of learning
about different countries as well as their experience of reading a range of picture
books and information books. At this stage the focus is on noticing the clues to
the setting).
• Does the setting remind you of anything? (This could be from a story, film, TV
show or real life).
Final Reflection
It is important here for the children to recognise that they have been using their
reading skills to read the illustrations. You could ask them where they have found
the information about the character and setting in order to make the learning
explicit. Explain that looking closely at the details in the pictures will help them
understand this story better.
FIRST ENCOUNTERS
R EAD A LOUD
Purpose
When sharing a new book for the first time it is important to read aloud just for
enjoyment. This allows children to build knowledge of story structure. Stopping too
frequently with questions interferes with this process. Reading aloud also enables
children to hear what text sounds like so that they can internalise the voice when
they read to themselves.
Occasionally, you may want to stop at a key point to predict what might happen
next, encouraging the children to use clues from what you have already read, but do
this sparingly.
Reading a book or passage for a second time allows you to check understanding at
both literal and inferential levels and to discuss themes and ideas.
Preparation
Copies of Handa’s Surprise or a visualiser for projection.
Process
• Read the story the first time without sharing the illustrations and ask the children

to describe to a partner what they could picture as you read. Invite the children
to tell you or each other what has happened in the story. Scribe their ideas so that
you have a record of this version.
• Read the story again showing the children the illustrations. Read to the end
without stopping to comment or question.
• Invite the children to describe what has happened in the story for a second time.
How has seeing the pictures changed their descriptions of what happened?
• Read the story a third time, this time look back at the original scribed description
and add extra details to it in a different colour.
Final Reflection
To make explicit the fact there are two different stories being told, ask:
• Who knows that the animals are stealing the fruit?
• Why does the author hide this from Handa?
• How would the story be different if Handa knew what was happening?
E CHO READING
Purpose
Children need plenty of opportunities to practise reading aloud in order to support
their increasing fluency. Prosody, the patterns of stress and intonation, often needs
attention. The following process gives the opportunity to focus on the rise and
fall in pitch and patterns of pausing when reading which in turn supports a more
nuanced reading of text.
Process
• Divide the book into chunks to read aloud. Each chunk needs to be long enough
to make sure children are not relying on short term memory. For this book, to
begin with a sentence at a time is ideal. In the section of the book where Handa
travels each sentence is split over two spreads so you would read, Will she like the
soft yellow banana ... or the sweet smelling guava? The children need a copy of
the book to follow as you read. It can be done with projection but this alters the
reading experience, and following the words in the book would be preferable.
• Echo Reading: First, read the sentence aloud to the children. Then ask them to
echo back the sentence that you have read.
• Draw attention to any decisions you make as you read aloud, e.g. I paused here
because… I added expression here to emphasise…. Making this explicit, rather
than simply having the children parrot what you have read is an important part of
this process.
• Continue to read in this way to the end of the book.
• Paired reading: working in pairs, each child takes it in turns to read half of the
selected text with the other child offering support. Then swap roles.
• These pairings can be self selected or you may pair readers with different levels of
reading attainment, so that they can support and learn from each other.

Final Reflection
Give the children the opportunity to share a section with either the class, or another
group.
Can they explain the phrasing decisions they made?
C HECKING UNDERSTANDING
Purpose
Focused questioning enables you to assess the literal understanding of readers and
identify any areas of potential miscomprehension.
Preparation
Copies of Handa’s Surprise, at least one between two children.
Process
Distribute copies of the book and ask the children to spend some time reading it
either individually or in pairs, depending on the age and experience of the group.
The following questions can be asked of the whole group or of individuals. They are
examples rather than a checklist and you can add your own questions.
Questions to check literal understanding:

• What happens to the fruit that Handa takes to Akeyo? (e.g. it gets stolen/taken by
all the other animals)
• Does Handa know what happened to the fruit? (No)
• How do the tangerines get into the basket? (e.g. The goat runs into the tree and
knocks them down)
• What is the surprise?
• Handa wants to surprise Akeyo but gets a surprise herself. Why is the book called
Handa’s Surprise?
Asking a question which requires inference can help you assess understanding on a
deeper level. You might ask:
• Does Handa realise what is happening? How do you know?

• Does Akeyo like the surprise?
• Will Handa carry fruit to Akeyo again?
Final Reflection
Which question did you find hardest to answer?
Were there any questions where you didn’t agree on the answer?
Did you change your mind about your answers because of something someone else
said?

DIGGING DEEPER
R EADER ’ S T HEATRE
Purpose
Readers Theatre is a way of adapting an extract from a picture book or a longer book
into a play script. It is especially suitable for sections with large amounts of dialogue
and with several characters. It is a strategy which can engage and excite children,
bringing a book to life. Hearing different voices reading character parts provides an
opportunity to explore characterisation and engage with a text on a deeper level.
Multiple readings of the text provide an opportunity for readers to develop fluency,
expressiveness, intonation and inflection. However, the children’s interest should
always be used to gauge how much re-reading is productive without diminishing their
enjoyment.
Preparation
Copies of the Reader’s Theatre script:
Which fruit will Akeyo like best?

“Hello, Akeyo,” said Handa. “I’ve brought you a surprise.”
“Tangerines!” said Akeyo. “My favourite fruit.”
“TANGERINES?” said Handa. “That is a surprise!”
Process
This section comes at the end of the story when the surprise is revealed to both girls.
Begin by re-reading the passage to the children, ensuring that they can follow the text.
Draw their attention to your expression and phrasing.
After reading, ask the question, ‘did you notice anything about the way that I read
that?’
Point out that the capital letters, punctuation and italics all help show the way the
character would say the words.
Organise the class into groups of three. Each group will have one narrator who reads
everything including the speech tags (she said etc) and the two characters. The other
two children read the parts of Handa and Akeyo. Point out that they do not need to
memorise the scene and will have their script with them at all times.
They can swap roles.
Once they have practised, groups can perform for each other.
Final Reflection
How did taking part in Readers Theatre help you understand what the girls were thinking?

E XPLORING EMPHASIS
Purpose
Making decisions about which words and syllables to place emphasis on supports
the development of prosody, which is vital for reading fluency.
Process
Read the following line putting the emphasis on a different word each time, e.g.
She will be surprised.

Does changing the emphasis affect the meaning of the sentence? Which version
works best, do you think? Some work better than others, but there is more than one
answer. The purpose is to encourage the children to listen, think and explain their
thinking.
Repeat with the second sentence but this time ask the children to read with a
partner.
I wonder which fruit she will like best?

Final Reflection
Give time to re-read the story. First read aloud to the children asking them to listen
out for the words you place greater emphasis on. Then give time to paired reading
of the story. One child should begin reading while the other listens, follows and
supports if necessary. Do they feel their reading has improved?
F RUIT SALAD
Purpose
Some of the fruits in this story may be unfamiliar to the children. Looking at the
fruits and tasting them will help bring the story to life and support the children
making connections between the text and real life.
Preparation
Depending on the number of children, prepare enough fruit for everyone to taste a
small piece.

A recording device to capture video, photos and audio of the tasting could be useful.
This may be an ideal opportunity to invite parents and carers to participate.
Safety note. Information about any food allergies suffered by children and adults
needs checking in advance of this lesson.
Process
Put a blindfold on and take a piece of fruit from the basket. Describe the way it
feels to the children, e.g. the skin of this fruit feels smooth. It feels quite large. Ask
for a volunteer to come and do the same with a different fruit. Display the list of
adjectives to support description and add any additional words used.
Divide the class into 8 groups. Give each group one piece of fruit and ask them to
pass it around giving everyone a chance to touch and smell the fruit. Which words
would they pick for each fruit? Write them onto sticky notes and put them with the
fruit. The groups can then move on to the next fruit and repeat the process.
Finally prepare the fruit for tasting. As you cut the fruit open encourage the children
to look carefully at the fruit and describe what it looks like inside. They could then
go around in the same groups as before tasting this time. Add words with the sticky
notes. At the end capture photographs of the fruit with their labels.
Final Reflection
Choose a fruit (keeping it hidden) and describe it using words from the selection.
Can the children guess which fruit you are describing?
This process can lead into Looking at Language or follow on from it.
This can lead into creating the Fruit Salad writing activity.
This can also link well to the Art Still Life process.
L OOKING AT LANGUAGE : ADJECTIVES GAME
Purpose
Handa’s Surprise introduces readers to a variety of ways to describe fruit. This
process looks at the words used in the story and asks the children to consider the
precise meanings of some of the words used as well as which are best suited to
describing different fruits.
Preparation
Pictures of the fruits on cards.
Copies of fruit adjectives cut up.
Process
The first child takes a fruit card and two fruit adjectives. They put them in a
sentence, e.g. Will she like the sour green guava? If the adjectives describe the fruit
accurately (this will need to be discussed and agreed on as a group) the player scores
a point. Return the cards to the bottom of the pile and play moves to the next person.

Final Reflection
Were there any combinations you didn’t agree on?
These could be discussed with the class.
The fruit tasting process can follow on from this process or go before.
Fruit Pictures
Fruit Adjectives
RIPE RED LARGE BITTER
SOFT S P I K Y - L E AV E D SMALL BUMPY
YELLOW CREAMY FIRM WA X Y
SWEET-
GREEN DELICIOUS SHARP
SMELLING
ROUND TA N G Y SOUR TENDER
JUICY PURPLE SWEET

W HAT ARE THE ANIMALS THINKING ?
Purpose
The illustrations show the animals taking the fruit from Handa. This process
encourages the children to make inferences about the thoughts of the animals.
Process
Re-read the part of the story where Handa walks along while the animals steal the
fruit. Say, ‘I wonder what the animals are thinking?’
First responses may refer to the text, e.g. ‘I’d like to eat that round juicy orange’.
Encourage the children to go beyond this and speculate about what they are
thinking when they decide to take the fruit, e.g. ‘I like the look of that round juicy
orange. The girl seems to be daydreaming. She might not notice if I just sneak up
and grab it. Yes! I got it!’
Now play a drama game. First ask the children in pairs to choose an animal. What is
their animal thinking? Practise voicing the thoughts of the animal out loud. You may
need to model this first. Once happy with their thoughts each pair should say them
out loud to another pair (or the whole class). Can the others guess which animal you
are portraying?
The could be written down or recorded using thought bubbles with copies of the
illustrations.
Final Reflection
Ask the children to link their thoughts to the evidence in the story by asking:
What clues were in the illustrations to help you with the animals’ thoughts?
This will help make the inferences they have made explicit.
REVIEW AND REFLECT
H ANDA ’ S R ETURN
Purpose
Imagining what happens when the story has finished allows children to speculate
about why the animals took the fruit and how Handa might react to finding out the
truth.
Process
Tell the children that you are going to think about Handa’s journey back to her
village and how she might work with Akeyo to try and solve the mystery of the
missing fruit. Using teacher-in-role, take on the role of Handa with another adult
or a confident child taking on the role of Akeyo. Choose eight children to take the

parts of each animal. Narrate a story where Handa and Akeyo retrace Handa’s steps
looking for clues. They could find footprints and discarded skins and seeds from the
fruits. The story could go something like this:
“Akeyo, let’s go back the way I came and see if we can find out what happened to
the fruit. What’s that over there? (mime looking in the bushes) There’s a footprint!
And some orange peel! They look like zebra prints to me. What’s that there? It’s a
zebra! Hey zebra! Why did you take my orange?”
At this point the child who has been allocated the role of the zebra should step
forward and respond. Work collaboratively to develop responses encouraging the
children to use and expand on the language used in the story. For example,
Zebra: It looked so juicy and it’s such a hot day I couldn’t resist. I’m sorry, I won’t
do it again.
Continue along the journey until each animal has responded. Depending on your
group and the time you have available, the children could continue with this in small
groups or could re-enact further using small world play.
Final Reflection
Finish by considering how Handa reacts to each animal. Do the children think she
would be angry with them or would she forgive them? Can they show with their
facial expression how she would respond? Tell them you think Handa would take
fruit for the animals next time she visits Akeyo – do they believe this would happen?
This links well to the writing activity: The Return Journey.
S TORY STRUCTURE
Purpose
The ability to summarise is important as it shows that pupils are able to discern
the most important elements in a story. Furthermore, the process of summarising
improves memory.
Preparation
Large sheet or roll of paper.
Process
Re-read the story then give the children time to attempt to retell the story orally
with a partner. Ask:
• Which parts were easy to remember?
• What made it tricky?
They are likely to remember the repetitive language (will she like the … or the …)
but find it more difficult to remember the exact order of events.
Explain that we can map Handa’s journey to make it easier to remember what

happened. Unroll a long strip of paper across the floor. Explain that one child will
represent Handa and walk along the length of the paper to its end (and therefore to
the end of the story).
As ‘Handa’ walks along, the rest of the children should call ‘stop’ when something
happens in the story. Ask a child to draw a quick sketch of what happens before
continuing along. You may need to model this initially.
The beginning could look like this:

• Handa puts the fruit in a basket
• Handa sets off
• The monkey steals the banana
• The ostrich steals the guava
And so on…
Once completed go back and add appropriate vocabulary (first…, and then…,
next…, until…., later…, soon…, finally…,) to emphasise a sequence of events and
time passing on the journey.
Finally, use the scroll as a prompt to aid a group retelling of the story.
Final Reflection
Help the children to recognise the role that mapping the story played in supporting
their memory of the key events by asking:
How did setting out the events in this way help when you retold the story?
W HO GETS THE BIGGEST SURPRISE ?
Purpose
Both Handa and Akeyo are surprised at the end of the story but by different things.
This process supports the children’s understanding of this crucial feature in the
narrative.
Preparation
Copies of the book or a visualiser to look at the page, “Tangerines!”
Statement ready to share: ‘Akeyo gets the biggest surprise.’
A table drawn on the board with two headings (Akeyo and Handa)
Process
Look at the page where Akeyo says, “Tangerines! My favourite fruit.” Divide the
class into pairs and ask them to create a tableaux of this scene. Explain that a
tableaux is a still image of the moment the two girls look at the tangerines. How do
they think each character feels at this moment?
Share the statement: ‘Akeyo gets the biggest surprise.’ Give 2 minutes for paired
discussion in response to this. Invite initial responses. Draw a table on the board

with two headings; ‘Akeyo’ and ‘Handa’. How is each character surprised?
Go back to the picture:

• How is each girl feeling? (thought bubbles could be written out and added to the
illustration)
• Look at the text. How does the author show their surprise (capital letters, italics,
exclamation marks)
Final reflection
Allow some time to reflect on whether this is a good surprise or a bad surprise for
each character. You might expect Handa to feel upset or disappointed that her fruit
has been stolen. What does it tell you about her personality that she appears not to
mind? (Answers might refer to her being optimistic or looking on the bright side).
W R I T I N G O P P O RT U N I T I E S
T HE RETURN JOURNEY
Purpose
Considering what characters might have said if the story had continued is a good
way of demonstrating understanding. This also gives a meaningful context to the
writing and ensures the children have had the opportunity to orally rehearse what
they will write.
Process
This writing process follows on well from the earlier review and reflect activity:
Handa’s return.
The aim is for the children to write a playscript of Handa’s return journey which
includes conversations between Handa and each animal. There is no need for each
child to write for every animal. You could divide the animals between the class and
then put together a class script to act out.
This can be achieved with or without using standard playscript conventions. As an

alternative we suggest using character heads and speech balloons, which may be
more appealing and supportive for younger children.
Model writing the words Handa would say and the reply of the animals. The
children should have access to the book so that they can include some of the phrases
used in the story.
Final Reflection
Can the children act out their playscript for another group or another class?

A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW
Purpose
In the story the text tells a different version of events to the illustrations. The children
will be able to show their understanding of the story told by the illustrations by retelling
a version which explains what the animals are doing.
Preparation
Large sheet of paper to draw a story map.
Copies of the book.
Language prompts.
Process
This process could take place over three or more sessions.
Session One
Explain that you are going to retell the story with text which tells the same story as the
illustrations. Share this opening line with the class:
One sunny day Handa set off to surprise Akeyo with a basket of delicious fruits.
Now invite the children to tell you which animal steals the first piece of fruit. They can
look at the book for this. Draw a sketch of the monkey and a banana onto a story map
(on a large blank sheet of paper) then draw an arrow before adding the ostrich. Keep
going until each animal has been included. Now go back and add in some vocabulary to
act as a prompt. Work together to retell the story orally as a class, then ask the children
to work with a partner.
Session Two
Retell the story again using the story map. You could give children copies of the story
map to use or ask them to create their own. If they create their own this may take a
whole session. If they are using a copy of the map created together they could annotate it
themselves and use it to retell the story again.
Session Three (and subsequent sessions if required)

Model write part of the story making explicit use of language to describe the fruits.
The children can then write their own stories independently with you working as you
normally would to support and provide feedback.
Final Reflection
Share successful writing with the class pointing out what has made it work well.
HOW TO MAKE A FRUIT SALAD
Purpose
When writing instructions it is crucial to write clearly in logical steps. A real audience can

be given instructions to carry out and feedback on how easy they are to follow.
Preparation
The 8 fruits featured in the story
A device to capture photographs
Process
This would work well as a group activity.
Take each fruit in turn and prepare for the fruit salad. Some fruits will need more adult input
than others to prepare. You may wish to demonstrate to the children and emphasise the language
you are using, e.g. I am going to peel the banana and chop it with the knife. Take photographs of
each stage which the children can use to write their instructions.
The children should take a copy of the instructions home and ask an adult to have a go at following them.
Final Reflection
How easy was it for someone else to follow your instructions?
Safety note. Information about any food allergies suffered by children and adults needs
checking in advance of this lesson.
ANIMAL FACT FILES
Purpose
Some of the animals in the story may be unfamiliar to the children. This activity gives them the
opportunity to learn more about the animal and share this with other members of the class.
Preparation
A collection of information books about animals.
Access to the internet.
Process
Re-read the story and ask the children if they can name each of the animals featured. Look
at the endpapers which show all eight. Invite the children to share anything they know
about the animals. Explain that they are going to create a class book about the animals for
other children to learn from.
The fact file should contain the following information:

• Animal name • What it eats (diet)
• Drawing of the animal • Other interesting facts
• Where it lives (habitat)
Depending on the experience of the children you could create a template for them to use (see
Animal Fact File).
Final Reflection
Share fact files and ask the children to tell everyone an interesting fact they have learned from
someone else.

Animal Fact File
A N I M A L ( D R AW A N D D E S C R I B E )
H A B I TAT
DIET O T H E R I N T E R E S T I N G FA C T S

R ETELLING USING THE LOCAL AREA
Purpose
The essential elements of the story will be retained which supports children’s
understanding of the story structure. Using the local area will give a setting the
children are familiar with, and considering the animals and fruits which are relevant
increases their understanding of their own environment.
Preparation
Camera or device to take photographs.
Process
Begin by asking the following questions:
• How might the story be different if it took place in our local area?
• Which animals might steal the fruits?
• Which fruits would they be if they were grown in this country?
Draw a story map of a journey you could have to surprise someone else. The exact
setting depends on your school setting and whether you are able to use the local
environment to create your own journey. You could use the school grounds to take a
surprise to a member of staff or the local area.
Begin by planning who will receive the surprise, then go on a journey to plan a
route. Take photographs of each place you go to on the way.
Once the route has been planned out you can add the photographs to a story map
and retell the story orally. The main elements which will change are the descriptions
of the fruits. Make a list of the fruits you will be using and ask the children to come
up with adjectives to describe them, e.g. crunchy red apple, ripe juicy pear, sweet
soft strawberries. Add these to the story map.
Final Reflection
Share examples of the language used to describe the fruits. Which descriptions are
you most pleased with?
W I D E R L E A R N I N G O P P O RT U N I T I E S
A RT S TILL L IFE
Purpose
Still life drawings and paintings can be a celebration of material pleasures. Still life
drawing challenges children to observe finer details of everyday objects. They need
to slow down and learn to really look and see in order to notice small details.
Preparation
Collection of fruits.

Drawing paper and pencils.
Magnifying glasses (not essential).
Process
Model each of these steps to the children to make explicit the techniques you want
them to use.
• Choose a fruit to draw. Look at each in turn to talk about the different features of
each fruit.
• First sketch an outline of the shape of the fruit using very light pressure from the
pencil. You could begin with some scrap paper and ask the children to experiment
using different types of pressure.
• Use shading to add tone to the fruit, looking at areas of dark and light. Use more
pressure for darker areas and sparser strokes for places where there is more light.
Some areas may have no shading.
• Now add in any details by looking closely at the texture of the fruit skin. If you
have magnifying glasses use these to find further detail.
Final Reflection
Look back at your finished drawing and the fruit to check if you need to add any
further detail. Now look at the fruits in the story and compare with Eileen Browne’s
illustrations. Are there areas of light and dark and places where there are finer
details?
G EOGRAPHY - T HE L UO T RIBE OF S OUTH -W EST K ENYA
Purpose
Learning about different countries and cultures is important for creating curiosity
in children about other countries and the people living in them. In this process the
children use the book to make inferences about life for Handa and Akeyo and make
comparisons with their own lives.
Preparation
Copies of the book to share.
Atlas/map/globe.
Process
Look at the title page where Eileen Browne writes that the children in this book are
from the Luo tribe of south-west Kenya. Do the children have any ideas about where
Kenya is? Use a map or globe to locate Kenya and identify that it is a country within
the continent of Africa. Some children may have personal experience of the country
so provide an opportunity for them to share experiences.
Give out copies of the book and ask the children what they think they know about
life for Handa and Akeyo from the story. They may need to use some prompts such
as:
• What are the houses made from?
• How do they travel to other villages?

• What is the weather like?
• What do people do?
Once they have established what life in the villages may be like ask them how this is
different to their own life. The children can work in small groups for this activity.
Give each group a copy of the comparisons chart. They should work together to fill
in the chart and respond with drawings or writing.
It is important that the children recognise that Kenya has a varied landscape and
does not consist only of villages. To avoid stereotypical thinking, briefly make the
point that Kenya is a very big country and that there are cities and towns as well
as remote rural villages. Share images from the internet and information books to
ensure they are aware of other features.
Final Reflection
Is there anything else the children would like to find out about life in the villages?
Make a note of any questions to find out more about in future learning.
Comparison
HANDA AND AKEYO ME
H O W I T R AV E L
W H AT I E AT
WHERE I LIVE
W H AT I D O
MY PETS

W HERE D OES F RUIT C OME F ROM ?
Purpose
As part of this process children will use atlases and/or globes to locate countries of
the world. They will also understand how far some of the fruit we eat travels before
it reaches the supermarket.
Preparation
You may be able to work with your local supermarket/greengrocer to arrange a visit
for the children to learn about where the fruit comes from. If this is not possible,
you will still be able to learn about the origins of fruit using packaging and the
internet to search. Ask parents and carers to work with their children to collect
packaging from any fruit they buy.
Atlases/maps of the world/globes.

‘Where does fruit come from?’ sheet.
Packaging for fruits or photographs from supermarket displays showing countries of
origin.
Process
Ask the children to list the different fruits they have eaten in the last week. Choose
one of the fruits (e.g. a banana) and ask them to either draw, write or say where
they think it came from. Share ideas and note them down. At this stage accept all
ideas telling the children that you will do some research to find out the answer.
Share the table ‘Where does fruit come from?’ to find out how and where bananas
grow. If you have a large map of the world or a globe you can locate the countries.
Use any packaging that has been brought in to add to the list of countries.
Repeat with other fruits.
Depending on the age and experience of the children you could investigate how far
the different fruits have travelled to get to the United Kingdom. The website http://
www.foodmiles.com/ has a calculator you can use. The fruits can be ordered from
nearest to furthest.
Final Reflection
Which of Handa’s fruits has travelled furthest to get to the United Kingdom?
Example
NAME OF FRUIT HOW IT GROWS WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?

Banana They grow in bunches on They need very hot weather to grow:
trees Ghana, Colombia, Windward Islands,
Peru, Dominican Republic, Costa
Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Belize

RESOURCE LINKS
Handa’s Hen by Eileen Browne
The sequel to Handa’s Surprise finds Handa and her friend Akeyo
searching for Mondi, a missing hen. They meet and count all kinds of
exotic animals on their hunt before finding Mondi has a surprise in store.
Handa’s Surprising Day by Eileen Browne

A collection of stories in chapter book form. Perfect to read aloud
or for children to gain confidence with independent reading.
Useful web link: www.foodmiles.com
COLLECT THE SERIES
Coming
September
2019
Handa’s Noisy Night • 9781406320015 • Hardback
£12.99 • (Coming September 2019)
Handa’s Surprise • 9781406388510 • Paperback • £6.99
Handa’s Hen • 9780744598155 • Paperback • £6.99
Handa’s Hen Big Book • 9780744583878 • Paperback • £19.99
Handa’s Surprise Big Book • 9780744554731 • Paperback • £19.99
Notes by Just Imagine

Just Imagine is a Centre for Excellence in Reading and runs reading programmes and training for
teachers across the UK
These Notes may contain links to third party websites. Walker Books does not endorse such
website(s) or their contents and is not responsible for such contents and makes no representations
or warranties regarding the contents, accuracy or functionality of such website(s).


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W ALKER B OOKS

About the Author

Before becoming an author and illustrator, Eileen Browne worked as a schoolteacher

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

T HEMES M APPING T EXT P OTENTIAL

The use of ellipses

T EXT TYPE , PURPOSE M AKING LINKS TO BACKGROUND

Picture book fiction 4 – 7 years Knowledge of fruits

Knowledge of surprise and the

Tennent, W., Reedy, D., Gamble, N., and Hobsbaum, A. (2016)

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

S POTLIGHT ON V OCABULARY : S URPRISE !

Use the sentence starter; ‘I was surprised when…’

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

C LOSE L OOKING AT P ICTURES

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

Can they explain the phrasing decisions they made?

Questions to check literal understanding:

• Does Handa realise what is happening? How do you know?

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

Which fruit will Akeyo like best?

They can swap roles.

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

She will be surprised.

I wonder which fruit she will like best?

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

L OOKING AT LANGUAGE : ADJECTIVES GAME

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

These could be discussed with the class.

RIPE RED LARGE BITTER

SOFT S P I K Y - L E AV E D SMALL BUMPY

YELLOW CREAMY FIRM WA X Y

ROUND TA N G Y SOUR TENDER

JUICY PURPLE SWEET

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

REVIEW AND REFLECT

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

This links well to the writing activity: The Return Journey.

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

The beginning could look like this:

W HO GETS THE BIGGEST SURPRISE ?

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

Go back to the picture:

This can be achieved with or without using standard playscript conventions. As an

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

Session Three (and subsequent sessions if required)

HOW TO MAKE A FRUIT SALAD

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

ANIMAL FACT FILES

The fact file should contain the following information:

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.

G EOGRAPHY - T HE L UO T RIBE OF S OUTH -W EST K ENYA

Illustrations © 1994 Eileen Browne from Handa’s Surprise.