The Big Five

by Bella Makatini, Judi Abbot (Illustrator)

From Bella Makatini, Winner of the International Competition for the Best Inclusive Story - organised by Inclusive Works and Clavis Publishing

Danny is spending the week with his grandpa. Grandpa has a painting of five animals. “Those are the big five,” says Grandpa, “the most famous animals from my homeland.” Grandpa tells Danny about one animal each day.

A playful and informative story about wild animals and about the love between a child and a grandparent. For animal lovers ages 3 and up.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Africa, Storytime, Family, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 2019

Reviews

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adorable story of a little boy is spending time with his Grandpa who tells him about five most famous animals from his home country. What I loved about this book the most is its beautiful bright colours and the fact that the boy and his grandfather seem to have so much fun together. There is in-built repetition and interactivity in this book, so I can easily see children enjoy reading/ listening to the story and acting it out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clavis Publishing for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely story.
This is a lovely story about grandparents, and their interaction with grandchildren.
I loved the illustrations too, bright, happy and cheerful.


I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Bookish Devil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cute little picture book is about Danny who is staying with his grandpa for five days. His grandpa' s house is adorned with so many beautiful paintings and colorful masks. Danny takes a special interest in one of them - A painting of five animals from Africa. His grandpa notices his curiosity and decides to teach his grandson about each of those animals in the following days.

The relationship between a child and a grandparent. is expressed beautifully. The illustrations are very colorful and vivid. It singles out one familiar trait from each of the animals which makes it easier for a kid to grasp the information conveyed.

[Christi M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Big Five tells the story of a boy named Danny who is staying with his grandpa for five days. He loves to look at his grandpa’s paintings, but his favorite is his painting of five animals from Africa. He asks his grandpa what each of the animals are. His grandpa gives him clues and they talk about the characteristics of each one.

This book was adorable and the pictures had very vibrant colors that look cheerful. The story was crafted with just the right amount of word and phrase repetition. But what I really think will stand out is how the story contains actions that both the reader and the listener can do giving everyone involved an enjoyable time and probably some laughter too. So, if the animal does stomping, Danny and grandpa begin to stomp around giving the readers and listener an opportunity to stomp around too.

The Big Five was the winner of the children’s story contest by Inclusive Works.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute little book about a boy, his grandfather, and famous African animals.

Danny is spending five days with his grandfather. The older man has a painting on his wall of "the big five", famous animals from his homeland. Grandpa proceeds to tell Danny about one animal each day until he's covered all five.

The way the book is written requires Danny (and kids) to guess at which animal Grandpa is describing. So this book is going to be much more entertaining on the first read-through. The clues for most of the animals are pretty straightforward, except for the buffalo. (I have a bit of an issue with this. Technically, yes, what is shown is a buffalo, but for North American readers, that word usually refers to bison. I would've rather seen the animal in question referred to as the African buffalo or Cape buffalo to avoid confusion.) The leopard's description also gave me pause; the text says the animal "looks like a big cat". To me, that implies it isn't a cat at all, but merely looks like one. The word choice there could be a little confusing.

The pictures are certainly bright and colourful, and some are pretty fun. (The illustration of Danny and Grandpa "grazing" on cucumbers is quite amusing.) Throughout the book, the boy and his grandfather are shown doing various activities together, which is kind of nice.

Overall, this is a fun little picture book. It's intended for kids age 3 and up, although I do think appeal will probably be limited to just a few years beyond that; I can't see older kids getting much out of this one, especially once they've gone through it once and know which animals are going to be discussed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clavis for providing a digital ARC.

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book to help children learn about animal while reading an interesting story. I also like the idea of presenting entertaining activity to do with your kids and putting them simply in the story. Simple enough but well done in every aspect. Good job!

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een best zoet boek over de grote vijf, je kent ze wel! Ik vond het zo lief dat opa elke dag van de vakantie (die toevallig 5 dagen is) over een van de grote vijf praatte, al moet ik eerlijk zeggen dat ik er ook iets meer van had verwacht. Het was net iets te simplistisch en net iets teveel herhaling. Kleinzoon krijgt een paar hints, mag het raden, en dan doen ze een beweging (stampen, springen, etc..). Het was nog steeds leuk hoor, maar ik had toch net iets meer willen zien. Ik weet dat dit een kinderboek is, een prentenboek, maar je hoeft het echt niet supersimpel te maken.
De belofte aan het eind, aww! Ik hoop zo dat ze dit waar kunnen maken~

[Donna Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

*thank you to Netgalley, Clavis Publishing and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

This is a really nice little book about Africa's main top 5 animals. It's fun to read and the colourful illustrations are beautiful to look at. It's a loving story of a little boys time with his Grandpa who teaches him about the animals. I really liked the ending too. I would recommend this.

[January Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Husband and I went on a Big Five Safari before we had kids, and this book is wonderful! When they are older we will take them with us, and this is the perfect introduction!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Big Five is a great interactive read for the young and young at heart. Its a story about Danny and the five days he spends with his grandpa. Grandpa shares about one animal each day will playfully enjoying what each animal is best known for.

The Big Five is definitely a book I'd share with my grandchild, especially if they were under 5.

I received this ARC copy of The Big Five from Clavis Publishing. This is my honest and voluntary review. The Big Five is set for publication June 25, 2019.

My Rating: 5 stars
Written by: Bella Makatini
Age Range: 3 - 12 years
Grade Level: Preschool - 2
Lexile Measure: 500 (What's this?)
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Clavis (June 25, 2019)
ISBN-10: 1605374571
ISBN-13: 978-1605374574
Genre: Children Fiction

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Five-Bella...
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-...

[B. Phoenix · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

The Big Five by Bella Makatini tells the story of a little boy named Danny, as he grows up listening to the stories of his grandfather about his homeland, Africa. The stories center on 5 important animals which hang in a picture on his grandfather’s wall. Instead of just telling Danny their names, his grandfather uses anecdotes and parallels from Danny to the animals to make him guess what they are called. Danny accomplishes naming 4 out of 5 of them correctly; however, he is stumped on the last one. The story ends with Danny’s grandfather revealing the name of this mysterious animal. The last scene returns to the pictures on his grandfather’s wall, and while the specific country his grandfather is from is never mentioned, a lone mask is present to give the reader a hint. I saw a few comments regarding the generalization of Africa in this book especially in regards to the author’s choice of not identify the specific country that the grandfather is from. I believe this was intentionally done to remind readers that while there may be many different cultures within Africa, as a whole they are bound by the soil and the love that each of them have for Mother Africa.

[Terrie Case · Rating 4 out of 5]

This children’s book is about a grandpa and his grandson spending the week together. Grandpa is from Africa and has a painting on his wall of five animals. It is Danny’s favorite work of art in Grandpa’s house. Each day Grandpa describes one of the animals and Danny guesses which one it is. Then he and Grandpa act like the animal – stomping, grazing, and jumping. In the end, Grandpa blesses Danny by giving him the painting and telling him that they would go to Africa together someday.

This is a good story showing that grandparents have knowledge to depart to their grandchildren. The two talked about animals and then played and had fun together. They had a great week.

I liked the informative dialogue and the story it imports. The illustrations were colorful and fun. I would recommend this book for grandparents to read to their grandchildren, then follow the story and go act like a kid with them. What joy!


I received an ARC from Clavis Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book.

[Keily · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Danny is spending the week with his grandpa. Grandpa has a painting of five animals. “Those are the big five” days Grandpa “The most famous animals from my homeland” Grandpa tells Danny about one animal each day’

WOW, thank you so much for the delight that is The Big Five. I enjoyed every second, every page and every illustration of this book.

The relationship between Danny and his Grandpa is so beautiful, and made me feel the way I felt around my grandparents.


The use of small words, big words, bold and italic is eye catching and makes you excited to continue reading.

I am so in love with this story and will most definitely be reading it to my children every night for bedtime.

Thank you so much Bella for the free copy for an honest review. I shall be reviewing this story everywhere, so everyone can enjoy this book just as much as I did!

[DubaiReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Animals and actions.
This is a fun book that illustrates five of the large African animals and gives a few facts about each of them. The illustrations are colourful, if a little whimsical. What really made it fun was copying the actions of the animals, which my grandson loved. Although I'm not convinced that lions are known for their jumping abilities, but he didn't question that.

My main complaint, however, was the generalisation of Africa as a continent, not a country. The Big Five would not be in the same in all African countries and I would have liked to have known which country Grandpa was from.

My grandson loved this book and took part in all the activities. I'm sure we shall be reading this many times more.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

'The Big Five' with words by Bella Makatini and art by Judi Abbot is a colorful story about spending time with grandpa and learning about things.

Danny's grandfather has a painting with 5 animals from his homeland. For the 5 days that Danny is spending, he will learn about each animal and learn how they move. He learns that the elephant is good at stomping, the lion is good at jumping, and other things about the remaining animals.

The pictures are bright and fun. The book itself is full of fun things to do for little readers as they imitate what the animals can do.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Clavis Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

[Sally Wilsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love stories that have Grandpa in the storyline. This is the story of Danny who goes to visit Grandpa. Grandpa is from Africa originally and has masks and a painting with 5 animals in it. When Danny asks about the painting Grandpa tells him he will tell him about 1 animal a day for 5 days. Grandpa gives Danny clues to the animal he is going to talk about to make him guess what kind of animal it is. He then proceeds to tell him about the animal and a feature of the animal. They then imitate that feature. This is a great book to teach children about animals and interact with your child like Grandpa did in the book. The illustrations are pleasing and very colorful to hold any child's attention. I recommend this book for age 3+.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy of this book. I received this in exchange for my honest review.



This is a very cute read. As a daycare provider this would be an amazing circle time book. The kiddos would get to learn different words like "grazing" and they can do the actions along with the story. There is also some sequential learning like "first, second, third". Every kiddos loves to spend time with grandpa so they would all find this relatable and engaging.



The illustrations are adorable. The right focal points are brought forward and are very intercultural. I absolutely would get this for my child or for my daycare kiddos.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from Clavis Publishing through NetGalley.
A young boy visits his grandfather and enjoys one of the paintings. The grandfather offers to tell him about one of the animals each day of his visit.
Danny and readers can interact with the story when the grandfather offers hints about the animals each day. They can guess the animal and then act out what the animal does.
The illustrations are colorful and action filled.
The story felt flat to me as the text was too short and disjointed on some pages. The concept was interesting but the execution needed one more review.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute book with vibrant, colorful illustrations. I liked how the book included the days of the week, descriptions of the animals so kids can take a guess at what animal is being described, and action words that I know my nieces and nephews would love to act out. I could envision using the book as a springboard for various crafts, playtime activities, etc centered around each animal.

** Thank you to Netgalley and Clavis Publishing for the ARC of this book

[Jes Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A grandfather shares with his grandson the five most famous animals from his homeland in Africa and promises to share one animal with him each day. This would make a great story to read aloud to a class/group of children. The descriptions the grandfather gives make a perfect opportunity to build vocabulary and narrative skills children need for early literacy learning. The comforting relationship between grandfather and child makes this a read many children will relate to.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of encouragement to move around, each time Grandpa tells Danny about one of the animals from Africa, Danny emulates the animal: stomping, jumping, grazing, climbing, and running. The action works great in storytime; the text is better suited to older toddlers and preschool age, but the interactive possibilities work well for toddlers. We had a great time guessing each animal, and then acting like that animal.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artworks cute and I love the diversity and heritage Danny's grandpa shares with him. Learning of "The Big Five" and a couple facts about each one. Could be a good book for story time, to encourage kids to do movements and guess the animals.

Thanks to NetGalley and Clavis Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. Basic counting, the days of the week, African wildlife, friendship, play, humor, and generational relationships are all packed into this delightful picture book which is enhanced by the colorful artwork of Judi Abbot. This book was originally published as De grote vijf in Belgium and Holland and now looks to find a new group of fans in the U.S. 5 stars

#TheBigFive #NetGalley

[Jvermeersch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ik verwachtte een kleurrijk maar eenvoudig prentenboek. Zo blij om vast te stellen dat het er eentje is dat heerlijk interactief aanzet om mee te bewegen met die dieren. Stampen, lopen, smullen, brullen. Onze kleuter was zo enthousiast en kon er goed haar energie mee kwijt. Geeft goesting om meteen op safari te vertrekken (of toch minstens naar de dierentuin).

[Tanja · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story that celebrates the power of imagination while encouraging being in the moment and appreciating what you have. The text is accompanied by colorful illustrations. Shared as a read-aloud, this story will surely spark conversations and wondering. What do you see when you look up?

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A young boy loves to visit his grandfather who is an artist. One of his paintings has the big five, the five most important animals from his grandfathers country. The grandfather then tells a bit about each of the animals.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book reflects a nice relationship dynamic between a boy and his grandfather. The grandfather is telling the boy, one day at a time, about the large animals back in the country from which he comes.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A story about a boy and his grandfather. Great colorful pictures. The text flows well and isn't too much for young kids to understand or follow. Plus, fun animals!

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun counting story for little ones. Good for early readers, lots of sight words. Has a little bit of history for Africa in there too. Love the illustrations.