Handa's Hen

One morning Grandma’s black hen is missing so Handa and her friend Akeyo set out to find her. On their search through the village, fields and bush they find ‘two fluttery butterflies, three stripy mice… nine shiny starlings’. Finally as they trudge sadly back from the water hole Handa hears a ‘cheep cheep’ and Mondi is discovered in the undergrowth with ten chicks.

There is so much to enjoy here: the engaging hide-and-seek story with natural built-in repetition, the fun of anticipating and counting, and above all, the stunning watercolour paintings of both the human characters and the south-west Kenyan village and its flora and fauna. A veritable treasure trove and a must for a big book edition.