Don't Feed the Greed! Honey... Honey.. Lion! by Jan Brett

 

 IN AFRICA THE HONEYGUIDE AND THE HONEYBADGER ARE PARTNERS. WHEN IT COMES TO HONEY. THE LITTLE BIRD FOLLOWS THE BEE TO ITS HIVE AND THEN SHE LEADS THE HONEYBEAR THERE TO BREAK IT OPEN WITH ITS BIG STRONG CLAWS.

TOGETHER THEY SHARE THE SWEETS. THAT'S THE WAY IT'S ALWAYS BEEN.

But one day Honeybear wakes up with a greedy plan, to find the honey all by himself and not share any of it with that silly bird! He locates, gulps, and gobbles down several honeycombs. But Honeyguide Bird discovers the glutton and follows him all the way back to his hole, where his full tummy forces him to wiggle and squirm to get inside his den.

HONEYGUIDE FUSSED AND FUMED,"NO FAIR! NO FAIR!"

The next morning Honeyguide has a plan. When Honeybear wakes, hungry as always, the guinea hens, bear, and hippo giggle silently as Honeyguide flies over the pond, low and fast, as Honeybear splish-splashes after her. As he careens into a termite mound, Honeyguide flies over the papyrus and through the scratchy bristlegrass. Wet and itchy, Honeybear huffs and puffs after her, just as Honeyguide fans her tail and dives down under an acacia tree, singing..

"HONEY... HONEY... LION!"

A roaring lion is not exactly the sweet treat Badger was expecting!

BADGER TURNED ON HIS TAIL AND RAN!

Honeybadger's solo honey hunts come to an abrupt end, and he and Honeyguide remain partners to this day, in Caldecott author-illustrator Jan Brett's Honey... Honey... Lion! A Story from Africa (Rise and Shine) (G.P. Putnam's Sons). Jan Brett's African animal characters star in a humorous trickster tale in which her trademark meticulously drafted and colored characters portray the plot, while each page's illustrated borders reveal hints at what comes with the next page turn. Writes Booklist, "This lovely title works equally well for storyhours or for one-on-one sharing."

By the Letter! A Visit to Grandad: An African ABC by Sade Fadipe

A is for Adanah

and my school is on Break.

At last Adanah is old enough to visit her grandfather by herself! She packs her Bags, including her Camera so she can make pictures to show her friends. Adanah wears her best Dress for the trip.

Dad drives Adanah all the way.

There are lots of things to see and do on Adanah's visit, in Sade Fadipe's lively A Visit to Grandad: An African ABC (Cassava Republic, 2029 Am. Ed.), and part of the fun is that Adanah sees them in alphabetical order.

E is for Eagles, flying high above the trees.

But that's not all to be seen that begins with the letter E. There is a woman carrying a tray of carefully stacked Eggs, a billboard which pictures an Elephant, a sign that advertises Eyeglasses, and an artist painting on an Easel.

Riding past a patch of Forest beside the road, Adanah also sees a Fisherman with a string of Four Fish and a Falcon in the tree. And then there's the Gate in front of Grandad's yard, and he hurries out to give her a big Hug.

A visit wouldn't be a visit without Stories from Aunt Sumbo under the big Tree and splashing in the rain puddles under a big Umbrella. And when it's time to return home, Adanah climbs into the Van, where her mom has her a present--a Xylophone--to make the trip home fun. And Adanah can't wait to tell her little sister Zainab all about her trip, from A to Z. Kids just learning their alphabet will have fun matching the big capital letters on each page with the matching initial-sound objects in the illustrations on the page, and author Fadipe provides an appended list of objects found on each page for each letter.

Artist Shedrach Ayalomeh fills each page with lively activities, done with fine draftsmanship, rich colors, and lively line and details, full of busy and joyful life being lived.