June 13, 2004

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. The best way to find out how useful a new children’s educational series will be to its target age group is by putting it to test. Therefore, this review was written in consultation with a group of primary school teachers.

The first thing that one notices about the books is their attractive cover. But as no book should be judged by the cover, it would be best to focus on what it has to offer inside. With the exception of a few lessons the books are well illustrated so they should hold a child’s interest especially during oral exercises in the classroom. Still, the quality of these illustrations could do with some improvement. Very often the colour used for an object was not its actual colour.

The contents are divided into units with different themes such as relatives (family), home and environment. And each unit has lessons on prose, poetry, phonics and grammar. There are lessons on moral values, social behaviour, positive attitudes, tolerance, civic sense, responsibilities, caring for others, respecting elders, and ways and means of conducting oneself in society. Islamic history is also included.

In a few lessons, children are made familiar with different everyday objects such as vehicles, birds, fruit and vegetables. They are helpful in increasing the child’s vocabulary as new words such as the names of different animals, days of the week, vehicles, flowers, etc, are introduced gradually.

The books have further exercises to increase and improve the vocabulary such as learning about masculine and feminine, verbs and adverbs, common and proper nouns and adjectives. From here children are taken on a new direction of creative writing. There is composition and story writing along with story outlines and character sketches. Children are encouraged to read the newspaper and learn more about themselves while finding out their individual interests.

In the section on poetry, which seems more interesting as compared to the prose, it was a fine idea to also use poems by the famous personalities such as Allama Iqbal and Ibn-i-Sina. In a way it is a first step towards introducing the little ones to Urdu literature. Each poem is followed by the meanings of difficult words along with a few thought-provoking questions. However, in some poems the name of the poet was missing.

In mathematics, it felt good to notice that Urdu numbering has also been gradually introduced.

The written exercises are varied and interesting. They include making sentences, correcting sentence structures and filling in the blanks. Another interesting exercise involves the breaking down and joining of Urdu letters to form new words. There are lessons in punctuation as well. The use of full stops, question marks and commas has been introduced.

On the whole, it can be concluded that the educational series was written keeping in view child psychology and the development of the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in growing youngsters. The books’ only two drawbacks are their proofing errors and the delicate binding. The price seems reasonable.

Urdu Ka Guldasta: Gulab, Chambeli, Motiya, Gainda, Sada Bahar, Nargis, Gul-I-Lala, Champa, Suraj Mukhi, Kunwal
ISBN 0-19-579625-X, 56pp. Rs56
ISBN 0-19-579626-8, 52pp. Rs61
ISBN 0-19-579627-6, 56pp. Rs66
ISBN 0-19-579628-4, 56pp. Rs71
ISBN 0-19-579629-2, 56pp. Rs76
ISBN 0-19-579630-6, 64pp. Rs81
ISBN 0-19-579631-4, 72pp. Rs80
ISBN 0-19-579815-5, 80pp. Rs91
ISBN 0-19-579816-3, 92pp. Rs90
ISBN 0-19-579817-1, 120pp. Rs95

Urdu Khuskhati Silsila Part I-IV
ISBN 0-19-597727-0
ISBN 0-19-597728-9
ISBN 0-19-597729-7
ISBN 0-19-597730-0
44pp, 44pp, 48pp, 48pp. Rs 25 each

Haroof ki Kahaniyan (Ibtadai Tasveeri Kaida)
ISBN 0-19-597726-2 44pp. Rs35
By Fauzia Ehsaan Farooqui
Oxford University Press, Plot # 38 Sector 15, Korangi Industrial Area Karachi. Tel: 111-693-673
Email: ouppak@theoffice.net
Website: www.oup.com.pk

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