Aao Padhe-Let's Read - Set of 11 books

The bilingual texts in this series of booklets can be enjoyed in borh English & Hindi, as young children can fruitfuly use a known language to learn a new one.

Aao Padhein Series

Children are constantly surrounded by adults who are engaged in various activities. A child observes and tries to imitate them as per his ability and understanding of the purpose of the activity. While there are some actions like crying, walking and eating which are instinctive and the child does not need systematic training for doing these, learning language is dependent on various factors such as: - the social interaction of the child with the language-using adults, his/her innate ability to acquire language as claimed by Chomsky and the several instances in day-to-day life which allow him to use language as a medium of communicating his thoughts. This is common for all children irrespective of their socio-economic and linguistic backgrounds.

From the time of birth itself, a child listens to people talking to him/her and generally begins to talk by the time he/she is one year old. But reading and writing ability develops later and varies according to the atmosphere he is living in. If a child is constantly surrounded by people who are literate and who effectively use print in their everyday lives, then it is easier for him to start reading and writing at an early age.

Children generally learn their mother-tongue first and then begin to learn other languages as they interact with people who speak language different from theirs or in school which requires them to learn a widely used language (e.g. Hindi or English). If we are dealing with children whose mother tongue and first language both are Hindi, i.e. those who speak Hindi at home and their medium of instruction is Hindi, need more time to learn English as they do not come across the language so often. The condition is same for the children who speak some other language at home and learn English from the beginning in school. They find it difficult to learn Hindi. For teaching any subject be it language or science, if the text is relevant to the culture and social milieu of the student, it becomes easier for the teacher to explain and for the students to understand.

The CLR books are a great way to start teaching simple and meaningful sentences in both Hindi and English. Although, these books are bilingual, they contain meaningful texts and not just word-to-word translation from one language to another.

The main features of these books are listed below:

• Repetition of words and structures of sentences so that children can form their own sentences easily with the help of simple words
• Words with opposite meanings, similar sounding words
• Use of objects which they see around them, as part of the subject matter
• Information about birds, animals, flowers, etc. through stories/poems
• Inclusion of activities and games which can be carried out in classroom and lead to some productive work
• Onomatopoetic words to develop phonemic awareness in the early stages of reading

1. My New Lunch Box
   This book shows the excitement of children when they get some new things for playing or general use. The names of delicacies popular with children have been included as it is in both the languages so that children can relate to them without any effort. It also brings to children’s notice that one should be happy and satisfied with whatever one has instead of crying for what he/she does not have. Also, it presents a picture of a relationship between children which is healthy and selfless.
2. My School is Clean
   This book is a description of a child’s perception about school and how he/she can turn it into reality by his/her own efforts. Children are happy in an environment which is clean and comfortable for them to play and study. But when they go to a school having a dirty location and the classroom setting is unsuitable for them to do anything joyfully, they hesitate to go to school. In this book, the children are unhappy with the untidy atmosphere in school and take the responsibility of cleaning it themselves. This serves as a motivation to the young readers that bringing a change is not difficult if one has a strong desire to do so, independent of others. Also, it demonstrates that no work is menial if it is done honestly and with a good purpose.
3. The New Girl
   This book can make many children feel that their own story has been depicted in the book. First day at school is very difficult for most of the children as they leave their comfort-zone at home and enter a completely new surrounding filled with ‘persons’ of same age. Feelings of anxiety, fear and excitement come together with the thought of going to school. But, the best thing about children is their innocence and selfless friendliness. This helps them to accommodate new people in their lives with ease and makes the other person feel comfortable. This book shows how the school children try to cheer up the new girl in school by playing with her and doing as she wants. Thus, the book tells children that they should help each other in getting adjusted with a new milieu.
4. My Sister and Me 
   This book is very helpful for teachers and students alike in simple English teaching/learning activity. It is in a narrative form by a boy about him and his sister and the things they do together. It is full of adjectives like small, fat, cold, below, etc. along with their opposites. These words are easy to learn as they are used by children in everyday activities. Thus the book is appropriate for early readers because it keeps them interested with a familiar context. It can also be used to increase their vocabulary by asking them for similar sounding and rhyming words.
5. Soap Bubbles & Fun with Paper
   These two books may be more interesting for the children than any other book of this series mainly for two reasons: they not only ask the children to read but also expect them to indulge in creative activities like making soap bubbles and making different things from paper. Fun with Paper gives simple two-line instructions about how to use paper for making boat, kite, book, etc. and the picture illustrations are so clear and detailed that children may want to start doing it immediately. So, teachers should be prepared with all the material needed. Soap bubbles will remind adults of their childhood, when making soap bubbles and blowing it here and there was one of the most popular games. Why not let the children have the same fun?
6. At the Window and Who’s in the Jungle? 
   At the Window is informative in a way that it tells the names of different birds and their behavior as observed by a child. Children will learn not only about these creatures but also the importance of observing their surroundings. But, the ending of the book also shows that adults often fail to realize that observation and curiosity is an asset for children and they should not be restricted from doing so. Who’s in the Jungle tells the readers about the animals in jungle and what children may know about them so that it is easier for them to read and understand this in simple English and Hindi. The images make it even more fascinating for the children because they can know about the habitat of these animals.
7. Toys This book narrates the fun, children have while playing with utensil-toys. Before saying anything else, one thing that caught my attention was the depiction of both a girl and boy playing with utensil-toys. This tries to break the stereotype that only girls play with utensil-toys and eventually spend their life in kitchen, cooking food. Thus, it gives out the message that cooking food is not a job only for girls and neither it is secondary to any work done by boys. Coming to the content of the book, it names the utensils found in every kitchen. Since it is bilingual, children who are already aware of the names of these utensils in Hindi can easily learn the names in English.