Science
Many creatures do things or know some things better than people Which creatures excel at smelling, running, seeing or hearing?  Which are strongest or best able to climb, dig or swim. Which have more babies? Which endure great cold or heat? Which live longest? Which have the largest populations?
- Discuss which abilities you think are best and why.
- Which animal ability would you like to have? Why?
- Which animal would you prefer be? Why?
- Learn the habits, skills and needs of various birds
Each student could "adopt" or study a different bird (local or exotic)  For more info contact the Audubon Society, Ducks Unlimited, The Wildlife Society, a local bird watching group.
- Find other folk tales that explain how certain animals acquired characteristics.  How does science explain animals evolving?

History and Geography
- Map Sheba's route from Ethiopia to Israel.
- Solomon would have met Sheba about 820 BCE. What else was happening in the world at that time?
- Israel and Ethiopia were both great cultures at the time. You may wish to have groups research each country in ancient times and report on the different cultures.

Folk tales
- Every culture has its own way of telling stories. Read some African stories. See if you recognize what makes them African.
Try this with stories from some other culture.
- Read another King Solomon or Queen of Sheba tale.
Every storyteller tells stories differently. Do Solomon and Sheba have the same character traits in someone else's tale?

Questions for Interpretation and Discussion
- How are Solomon and Sheba different? Why did they respect each other when they first met? Why did they respect each other even more by the end of the story?
- Why was the Queen not satisfied with Solomon's wisdom?
- What causes Solomon to change his mind?
- What part(s) of the story did you like most? Is there anything else you would have liked the author to explain?
- What illustration(s) did you like most? Is there anything else you would have liked the illustrations to show?

Creative Writing or Storytelling
- The Wisdom Bird is a riddle tale.  Create a story where
some person or creature asks a riddle for a special reason.
- Turn an old folk tale into a modern day story.
- Turn a news story or personal story into a folk tale.
- Create a new story using Solomon, Sheba or the hoopoe bird.

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