This was an ok story with stunning illustrations. I liked the extra content at the end and found it to be a great addition to the book .

My girls and I really enjoyed this retelling of the folk tale originating from India and Pakistan. Kamala uses her critical thinking skills to get herself and her father a better life.

I appreciated how the young, female character did not give up and wait for someone to rescue her, as is common in folk tales the world over. And my girls especially enjoyed the multiple activity invitations at the end of the book, which brought the story into real life for them.

Many thanks to the authors, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

A beautiful modified South Asian Folk Tale!

This is the story of Kamala, a bee keeper who tried to outwit some villains to make her own dreams come true. Beautiful story that helps readers understand persistence, resilience and creativity to achieve one’s goals.

I loved how colorful the illustrations are and also appreciated the activities and projects in the book end which keeps the reader engaged.

A great read a loud if looking for a folktale, diverse and strong girl characters.

Disclaimer: the story does include “lying”/tricking others, it will be up to the reader to decide whether that it something they are comfortable reading or not.

What a cute story! I loved the artwork of the book and the richness of the colours. The story was about a father and daughter using their wits to get their work done. It has a nice lesson about how some people will let their greed drive them. My daughter was engaged and loved the vivid pictures. I would love to have this book added to our library. I received a copy from Netgalley.

i tried to post a review on Amazon and goodreads but reviews were not accepted at this time. Perhaps once the book is published i will be able to post . Thank you!

Cute modern take on a folktale. The story is about a young girl name Kamala who doesn't have much, but with wit and ingenuity gains heart hearts desires.

The book ends with a series of adult pages which can be used to extend the learning/concepts.
- Now it's your turn activity
- Guiding questions (reading comprehension)
- What if (critical thinking)
- Projects

I'll be recommending this book to many of my school sites and home-school families I support. Great read aloud for children in grades K-4 and/or educators who are looking for:
* Diverse characters
* Folktale
* Strong girl character

Based on the rubric I use for recommending diverse books:
Seek diverse authors, not just diverse books - 3/5*
Look out for biases beyond the cover - 4/5
Intersectionality- 5/5
Diversity devoid of White gaze/white supremacy ideology- 5/5

* I could not confirm if the author is Indian/ Pakistani which is where the original folktale is from.

I really loved this book, and would recommend for any PK-2 classroom or family. The author does an excellent job of introducing what folk tales are at the beginning of the book, while asking questions and offering activities to engage children in different ways at the end. The story is fun, while the illustrations are deep and rich, using many different colors to bring the jungle and Kamala into vibrant life. Even the end papers are gorgeous!

The story is about Kamala who is a honey seller. She asks for some help from the king, who gives her some land. Her plan to grow her business is sabotaged by some thief's who she then tricks.
I read this book to my 7 year old who loved it. We loved doing the tasks at the end of the book and I also loved how it explained the original folklore of the story
The illustrations are beautiful and I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys fairy tales.

We enjoyed this tale of a clever girl who figures out a way to outsmart the leader and the thieves who are trying to interfere with her business. Nice illustrations too!

What a wonderful story! I love the characters, the colour palette and the incredible illustrations. It was a joy to read about a clever, headstrong girl character. Lovely!!!

A Taste of Honey delivers the right level of sweetness, just as its title suggests.

The story is derived from an old Indian folktale. (I remember reading the original, and I love the changes that the author has made to that narrative.)

Kamala is a young woman who keeps beehives and sells the collected honey in the local market. When business is too slow and she is struggling to make do, she approaches the king for assistance. Instead of giving her an outright sum, the king allots to her a plot of land and makes a deal that of whatever she earns from that plot, she can keep half. Kamala decides to make the best of this opportunity, but soon realises that the plot is on the outskirts of the town, the area is known for being a hideout for thieves, and the land itself is a mess of weeds and sticks. How Kamala uses her brains to earn a fair income from this land forms the rest of the story.

This is one of those few folktales where a woman is shown as using her brains, and not her feminine wiles and guiles, for the benefit of her family and for victory over the bad guys. Kamala is a great character to learn from, as she knows when to seek help and also when to help herself. She is an independent girl, a smart thinker and a hard worker. I wish her dad weren’t portrayed as a dull, sleeping character for about half the book. Making him look bad isn’t the only way of making Kamala look good.

The illustrations are pretty good, and as exotic as the western market would be happy to see. I wasn’t perfectly happy with them. The dad looked more like a granddad, and the clothes & jewellery that Kamala and her dad wear make them look more like fairly wealthy landowners than poor sellers struggling to make a living. Nevertheless, the colour scheme and the vibrant pages are appealing enough.

There are some very interesting activities at the end such as how to make your own shadow puppet theatre, some questions and what-if situations related to the story, and the author’s note detailing the original tale and what changes she made in this version. I found all of this extra content enjoyable.

All in all, a fun and exciting read for little ones with a smart woman leading the way.


My thanks to Storey Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of “A Taste of Honey”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review

The story follows Kamala a honey seller. Over time her business isn't booming, so Kamala goes to request the king for his help.

This illustrated book is perfect for middle age children. Is definitely going to help them learn how to think outside the box like Kamla.

The illustrations are beautiful and clear for reading. Every kid who picks up this book will laugh and enjoy Kamala's witty behaviour and also get to think with the questions inside the book.

Great story! Loved the artwork and the fun activity ideas at the end. My kids love story podcasts so I will definitely be looking this one up. I appreciated the author explaining at the end they ways in which they changed the original tale and their reasons for doing that.

My 7 year old and I loved the book.!!

Oh what a clever story and the laughs we had 😂

Good illustrations.

Would definitely buy it and recommend to children of all ages.

I was initially interested in this book because it was one of the stories from the acclaimed podcast, Circle Round. And true to form, this was a charming, well-told story about a clever business woman who outsmarts some nefarious thieves. As soon as you open the book, the bold colors in bright jewel tones will captivate the reader. the illustrations are wonderful and they perfectly accompany the text.

The story has been adapted slightly from various versions, but still holds the essence of the folktale that has been passed down in India, Pakistan, and other areas of the middle east. The protagonist's name, Kamala, will be of interest to anyone familiar with our first female vice president.

My children (7 and 9) listened intently to this interesting story at family story time and asked for it again the next week.. I love that it includes the background about folktales generally and about this one and how the author has adapted it in this story.
Great activities and discussion points at the end and lovely illustrations. Have also read The Unwelcome Guest by the same author and would definitely recommend both.

I love this picture book! I think it would be a great asset to my classroom: diversifying the fairy tales we read, beautiful artwork, great moral, and engaging story. I could see my students absolutely loving this text. I also love the additional resources (questions for kids, crafts, etc) at the front and back of the book at add on extensions to continue the conversation and learning.

A short but interesting book. The main character is a strong , clever , brave and resourceful young woman. This would be perfect for reading out loud to a group of primary aged children. I especially liked the follow up activities at the end of the book. Books that celebrate diversity and strong female lead characters are perfect reading for now. My only criticism is the use of the term ' use your smarts', I think that this is fine now while the term is in current use but will date this book unnecessarily.
Lovely illustrations also.

This story is a rendition of a Pakistan and Indian folklore, about Kamala who tricks lying thieves into helping her harvest land to make money for her beekeeping business. The thrives try to steal her earnings, and she is able to outsmart them again.

I enjoyed that this story is about accomplishing things important to you, using your brain and outsmarting others. I also enjoyed the main character being Kamala, and not her husband, as the author explains is typically the folklore character. I think it would be best suited for 6-9 year olds. The illustrations are adorable and I liked the activities for further exploration at the end.

Beautiful illustrations and a lovely introduction to a folktale which should be more widely spread. Enjoyed the questions asked at the end to further engagement. Great activities also listed. Perfect way to engage younger readers with reading and with the stories of our past.

A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.

2/5 - It was okay.

There were several elements of this book I really enjoyed. The illustrations were beautiful. I loved that it focused on a strong heroine. And the activities at the end of the book were delightful - I love that there are suggestions on how children can use their creativity to take the book further.

However, I found the story itself to be just okay. I did appreciate that Kamala was self-sufficient and tricky, but I wanted her to be more of a trickster - it is clear that she is very cunning, but she denies having tricked the thieves, which isn't entirely true. Of course they do not act morally, but when she says she did not lie to them about gold hidden in the earth, it feels like she is not admitting to her cunning, either. This rubbed me the wrong way, as it felt like she was stooping to their level and I wanted her to take more pride in her cunning nature.

That being said, I enjoyed learning a new folktale and thought the book was visually stunning.