Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne is a lovely, colourful book. It follows the adventure Handa has of taking seven delicious fruits to her friend in the next African village and what happens to them along the way. My children love this book and it has been used to expand their vocabularies of fruit, animals, and colours over the past few years. They never grow tired of it.
Trying new foods with Handa’s Surprise
One of the discussions that took place during one reading was about the various fruits that Handa has. “What is that?” “What does it taste like?” This provided a nice segway into a little learning adventure of the senses for our family.
We wandered down to our village Green Grocers to see if we could find any of the fruits that were in Handa’s Surprise.
Tristan found the pineapples and took a photo of them.
Kallista was very please with the purchase, and found the page of the book that spoke of the pineapple.
We took our pineapple home and Phil cut it for our dessert that evening. The children enjoyed exploring the prickly feel of the fruit, they guessed what colour it would be on the inside, and they liked the refreshing aroma of the flesh.
Then it was time for them to taste the tangy fruit for themselves. As you can see, they both really enjoyed fresh pineapple once they became used to the tanginess!
This activity was such a hit with our children that we continued to explore some more of the fruit in Handa’s Surprise. Next up was an avocado.
It rolls, it’s soft yet firm. Cool to the touch. Good first impressions! What does it look like inside?
Oh, it’s a different colour! And what a big pit!
Tristan enjoyed examining the pit and asking lots of questions about it.
We made ants on a mossy log with the avocado for a healthy and fun snack!
One more photo is up with the children digging into a juicy mango.
This fruit definitely received the thumbs up from them!
This has been a fun way to learn about not-so-common fruits, animals, culture, and fill our tummies at the same time!
What is your child’s favourite fruit?
For more great ideas see our Books and Book Activity page or see our Multicultural Activities for Kids page where you’ll find all of our multicultural ideas in one place.
Nikki says
Hey there! I’m stopping by from the blog hop! I hope you and the fam have a great afternoon.
Nikki
Crystal McClean says
Thanks so much, we did have a great day 🙂 Have a good week!
Dollie @ Teachers of Good Things says
Thanks for linking up with Tender Moments with Toddlers & Preschoolers!
Crystal McClean says
Thank you for stopping by to read our activities and share some comment love 🙂
Leanna @ Alldonemonkey says
Looks like a wonderful book. Just requested from our library! And I love the outing and sensory activities with the fruit. Thanks for linking up at the Culture Swapper!
Crystal McClean says
Sounds great, I hope you enjoy it, it’s very colourful with lots of sneaky animals along the way 🙂 Have fun!
Leanna @ Alldonemonkey says
Just picked this up from the library last night – we’ve already read it several times! Definitely worth a trip to find some guava and passionfruit for my son to try. Thanks for sharing!
Crystal McClean says
We’re very honoured you’ve found our idea worth doing! Have a great time with it and let me know how it goes 🙂
Jennifer Fischer says
That book sounds wonderful, and I love the way you used it to explore new foods with your kids. Popping over from the Kid Lit Blog Hop!
Crystal McClean says
Thank you for visiting! This was very fun to do over the course of a summer 🙂 Please drop by again and have a great summer!
Cheryl Carpinello says
Love to find interactive books for little guys! Thanks for sharing with the Kid Lit Blog Hop. Cheryl, Hop Hostess
Crystal McClean says
Thank you for hosting. We’ve learned it’s fun to make a book come to life and if it brings a little learning with it all the better!
Renee C. says
Oh how fun and how cute are your kiddos?! I’m sure they loved seeing those fruit in real life! It’s great to expose them to many different foods at that age. They’ll make for adventurous eaters! Thanks for linking into the Kid Lit Blog Hop. 🙂
Crystal McClean says
Thank you for hosting, it’s great fun! I must say my children are quite adventurous, and at the very least they are always willing to try something new, which is more than I did until recently! We hope to see you again soon 🙂
Jody @ Mud Hut Mama says
This sounds like such a sweet book and I love how you used it to introduce some new foods. The photos are adorable – especially the one just after tasting the pineapple! Thank you for linking up to the Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop!
Crystal McClean says
Thank you for hosting the link up 🙂 It’s so cute to see children’s expressions as they can’t hide them!
Frances says
Hi Crystal! Oh how I wished we had guavas and passion fruit readily available like Leanna mentioned in her comment! But I guess we’ll have to do with the pineapple and avocados. Wonderful post! Thanks for linking up at the Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop #4!
Crystal McClean says
I’d love to taste passionfruit and guavas, too! Funny thing is my hubby said he didn’t like avocado, but when I turned it into Ants on a Mossy Log he couldn’t get enough! Trying new foods is for everyone!
Jody @ Mud Hut Mama says
I love this post! I featured it on this months Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop – please come grab your “Featured” button!
Crystal McClean says
I’m honoured, thank you! Have a great week 🙂
Reshama says
Sounds like a really great book. we will check it out at the library. Thanks for the review. The pictures are super cute 🙂
-Reshama
http://www.stackingbooks.com
Crystal McClean says
Thank you very much, Reshama 🙂 Our book came with a DVD so it can be watched (though we prefer to read it) which also has Handa’s Hen on it, which is also good. Have a great day!
Tina says
I adore books that introduce kids to new places and cultures. Thanks so much for introducing me to this one. It looks really fun. I also love the outing you took and the pictures! Well done, mom! 🙂
Thanks for linking up to Booknificent Thursday! Hope to see you again this week!
Tina
Crystal McClean says
Thank you, Tina 🙂 Books are great when you can’t travel, and I’m enjoying bringing them to life as best as I can. Have a great week!