Books like Handa's Surprise: Read and Share
By Eileen Browne
By the third animal sneaking a piece of fruit off that basket, your kid is calling out what's missing before Handa notices herself. That's the whole game in Handa's Surprise: Read and Share, and it works every single time. The books below are for kids who like being one step ahead of the story.
One kind act starts a chain reaction, just like Handa's fruit did, but How Kind! by Mary Murphy makes the giving itself the whole point.
Same berry-picking joy as Handa's basket, but Jamberry by Bruce Degen turns the whole thing into a bouncing, rhyming romp.
Sharing a Shell by Julia Donaldson moves the friendly sharing underwater, with a crab who has to learn what Handa gives so easily.
No fruit basket here. Kindness Makes Us Strong by Sophie Beer takes that same generous spirit and spreads it across a whole playground.
Handa's friends help without being asked. Amos McGee Misses the Bus by Philip C. Stead flips it around, the friends showing up to save the day this time.
Same short, sweet friendship at the center, but Our Best Friends by Gyo Fujikawa sticks close to home instead of sending anyone on a journey.
A birthday hamper instead of a basket of fruit, but Spring Story by Jill Barklem carries the same warm walk toward a surprise at the end.
For story time when you want something longer, Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick stretches that same sweetness into a real journey.
A young mermaid named Molly heads off to her first day of mermaid school, where she counts clamshells, recites the A B Seas, and makes new friends under the sea.
Farm animals pitch in the way Handa's did, but The Scarecrows' Wedding by Julia Donaldson turns the helping into a bouncy rhyme kids start asking to hear again.
Handa never asks the animals what they want. Can I Give You a Squish? by Emily Neilson makes that question the whole point, with a puffer fish who says no thanks.
When deep snow buries their doors and windows, the mice of Brambly Hedge decide there's only one thing to do: build an Ice Hall and throw a Snow Ball.
