Eileen Browne

: Handa spends the night with her friend Akeyo, but Akeyo’s family is so noisy that she hardly sleeps at all. What does she think when she finds out the Akeyo’s family was not making all the noises?
This book is recommended as a read aloud for ages 2-6. It’s simple text and colorful illustrations make it fun and engaging. The children will have fun talking about all the different animals and the noises they make. Older children could explore the animals and the African culture in more detail.… (more)

Handa puts seven delicious fruits in a basket to take to her friend, Akeyo. But as she walks, carrying the basket on her head, various creatures steal her fruits. 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. Handa walks on, wondering which of the fruits her friend will like best, without knowing that her basket is now empty. But then, behind her, a goat charges into a tangerine tree and fills Handa's basket with the fruit. "Hello, Akeyo," she greets her friend. "I've brought you a surprise." But when she lifts off her basket, it's Handa who gets the biggest surprise.… (more)

I really enjoyed reading this book. The two things I really liked about this book was its plot and the point of view from which the story was told. The plot was great because it was short sweet and to the point. It moved along at a very nice pace and kept the reader interested throughout the whole book. There was also the element of added suspense of what was going to happen when she actually got to her friend in the next village and what she would think of the fruit. The other great thing was the point f view. The story was told in first person through the main character but the reader knew so much more that the main character. As the story went on and she was loosing fruit she had no idea, but the reader did. I thought this was a great way to get across the big idea that things are going to work out whether you worry about them or not. The main character had no idea she was loosing all of her fruit but in the end she got more fruit that her friend loved.… (more)