Pakistan

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature - Uma Krishnaswami

Part of the publisher's "Countries and Cultures" series (some of the other titles are India, France, and Japan) this library bound volume seems suitable for students in grades 3 and 4, although an interest level of grades 3 through 9 is indicated in accompanying literature. Chapters include material on climate, landforms, wildlife, history, government, economy, people, and traditions. Additional features include fast facts, maps, sidebars explaining the country's money and national symbols (the flag and the coat of arms bearing traditional Islamic symbols), a timeline of history from the Indus Valley Civilization to the year 2000, and a traditional recipe for an egg pudding. The narrative does a creditable job of presenting a complicated post-independence history, but fails to capture the cultural diversity of the country, focusing instead on the unifying theme of religion. Historical photographs are both interesting and well-chosen. Contemporary images, on the other hand, tend to be static landscapes or scenes of war or disaster-with the exception of one delightful shadow-dappled street scene that shows boys playing cricket. The map of Pakistan clarifies the disputed nature of the Kashmir border with India. This political tussle and the related civil strife in the region are also addressed briefly in the text. In addition to conversational Urdu snatches, that are included in the manner of a travel guide, a glossary lists both English and Urdu words that might be unfamiliar to the young reader. It is not an easy matter transliterating South Asian languages into English, and the pronunciation guides, although they struggle to be intuitive, are at best inexact. Native speakerswould almost certainly find impossibly Anglicized at least one of the suggested pronunciations in the glossary (i.e., that for burqa). A reading list, web sites, and an index are included in the back matter. 2003, Bridgestone Books, Ages 8 up.

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