Going to School in India

My daughter and I love reading this book! It's great to see real life photos of so many children from different regions in India. The illustrations are witty and compleement the stories well. My 5 years old was immediately drawn to it, especially to the kids braving the rivers, climbing the steep mountains, or drivinng for miles in the desert on a bicycle just to get to school. We learned so much (yet so easily) about the local foods, traditions, games, clothes and modes of transportation. You get to see the daily struggles children have to face, and you can't help admiring their determination and creativity in overcomming them. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested to learn about the kids' life, and point of view, in India. This is great research material for preschool and elementary classrooms.

I run a preschool and have 4 and 11 year old kids, and this wonderful nonfiction book is perfect for them. The details about the lives of children in school in India are beautifully depicted, and the entire book has the feel of glimpsing school life through the senses of children. I just got it as a gift and have spent half an hour reading it instead of working!

This book has wonderful information about a variety of schools in India that will make any child or adult excited to flip through the pages, the extension pullout pages, and look at photos of real children sitting in a bus for their school classroom, or riding exciting Tuk-Tuk rickshaws to class! Bright colors attract students to the book, and make for an excellent learning experience and many teaching moments in a variety of subjects. A fantastic addition to any globally-aware classroom!

Title: Going to School in India Author: Lisa Heydlauff Publisher: Chafrlesbridge (www.charlesbridge.com) Review by: Diana Rohini LaVigne, Indian Life & Style Graphic designer and illustrator B.M. Kamath and photographer Nitin Upadhye along with writer Lisa Heydlauff have created one of what I would say is one of the best children's books to introduce a snapshot of daily life in India. It's cleverly crafted so the young readers will have new things to notice with each read-through and adults will love reading with their children as well. The visuals are strong and diverse and each spread delivers a different look and feel but every page invites exploration. The text is a brave delivery of some of the harsh realities that Indian children endure but also offers plenty of extremely inspirational tidbits too. The incredible attention to detail like the graphics for page numbering shows how much thought went into each and every element in this cultural-rich book. With a portion of each book purchased going towards the Global Fund for Children charity, this book isn't just a wonderful book but a good way to spend money that gives back to the community that needs it most. The book is a powerful addition to any child's bookshelf regardless if they are Indian or not. Trying to bridge the gap between cultures, `Going to School in India' is an important contribution to children's literature.

This is a colorful and provocative book for classroom use. Although written for an elementary aged student, I used it in a high school Global Studies class and each page provides opportunities for thoughtful inquiry and discussion. Students used this book to teach younger students about education, India, and a world view that they might not have gotten otherwise. It is not a book designed to be a complete overview of Indian education, but rather a stimulus to thought. The rich and colorful layout appealed to my students and made it a page-turner, not a"coffee-table" book at all.