India

Children's Literature

In a welcome departure from the usual views of developing nations as uniformly poor and far away, this book offers insights into how India is changing to meet the needs of the 21st century. Other countries presented in the "Changing Face" series include Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Opening with a profile of Bangalore (India's "Silicon City"), this volume reviews the country's post-independence economic history, and offers information about the landscape and climate, natural resources, environmental and population stresses, and social and occupational changes. It closes with a chapter that looks ahead to the future, projecting wealth and poverty estimates and speculating on the tasks facing the country. A variety of views of economic and social change are presented here, so that readers can form their own conclusions based on the information in these chapters. An array of file photographs, maps and graphs illustrate the book. An interesting and eye-catching feature is the use of the "In Their Own Words" sidebars, with quotes about the past, present and future, from Indians representing a wide range of ages, occupations, belief systems and opinions. A glossary and index are included, as well as a list of related books, organizations and web sites. 2002, Raintree Steck-Vaughn,
— Uma Krishnaswami

Children's Literature - Uma Krishnaswami

Part of the publisher's "We Come From" series, this volume focuses on a ten year old, Harjinder, who lives in a Punjab village. Through her, we encounter the land, people, food, school, and leisure occupations. Alas, a few stereotypical errors have managed to creep in (e.g., all Hindus don't eat meat; the colors in the flag stand for Hindus and Muslims). And would a rural Punjabi girl really claim Hindi is "our language?" In linguistically sensitive India, this is the stuff of ethnic unrest! A little fact-checking would go a long way toward preventing misrepresentation.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-These titles highlight elementary students and their families in their respective countries. They show major cities and the child's village or city on a full-page map, and then give a general overview of the land features and weather patterns. Through full-color photographs and direct quotes, readers are given a glimpse of the child's home life, school, and activities. Each title has a recipe, a one-page index, and useful addresses for embassies and offices of tourism. While the information is limited, these books can be combined with titles from the "Postcards from-" and "Food and Festivals" series (both RSVP) for country studies.-Betsy Barnett, Eads School District, CO|