Count Your Way Through the Arab World

Presents the numbers from one to ten in Arabic and introduces diverse facets of the Arab world and its culture--such as its geography, religion, history and traditions

Grade 1-4 Four books that introduce a foreign country through counting from one to ten. Each double-page spread shows the number, the character or word for it, the pronunciation, and a full-color illustration. There is also a brief paragraph that gives a few facts about various aspects of life in that country. In the China volume, for example, children read about the two pandas donated to the U.S. in 1972, the five-tone scale, and the ten major dynasties. The kinds of topics vary and seem to be determined in part by what facts Haskins found to illustrate each number. Some information fits well into this format: the importance of prayer five times a day for a Muslim, for example. Others are stretched to fit the point and are not very significant, such as ``The Japanese character for the words `how many' requires seven strokes.'' Many of the topics will require further explanation. Haskins does little more than list the seven zones of vegetation in China, for example. The books may find a place as introductory material in social studies, but they are limited by the fact that format determined content. Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, Minn.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.