Reader Reviews

READER REVIEWS

An ABC Escapade through Egypt

by Bernadette Simpson

Reviewed by Maya Bijvoet Williamson (Cairo, Egypt)

What do cactus crunching camels, elegant egrets, gallivanting goats, jumping jerboas, and underwater urchins have in common? They are all animals common in Egypt, yes. And they are all part of Bernadette Simpson’s just published alliterative alphabet of Egypt. This attractive 32-page ABC picture book with text covering some of the author’s favorite animals, foods (“baladi bread” and “desert dates,” or “ kilos of konafa”), objects (“floating felukat”or “lively luminescent lanterns”), and places (the “narrow Nile” and “various vibrant villages”) in Egypt is intended for young Egyptian readers ages 9 to 12 ( U.S. grades 4 – 8) but will no doubt appeal to a much wider readership, native as well as non-native speakers of English, adults as well as children. The ABC grew out of Bernadette’s Simpson’s frustration, as a teacher of English to Egyptian children, with the paucity of English language children’s books about Egypt. Most of the texts read by this age group in local international or language schools come from abroad and deal with Western characters and situations. Simpson felt that Egyptian students of English should have the opportunity to read books about their own country and culture.

Years ago, when our children were very small, I experienced the same frustration. Since both our children were born in Egypt, we wanted them to learn as much about the country of their birth as about their parents’ home countries (America and The Netherlands). We searched the local bookstores for children’s books with Egyptian themes and found a few, very few. The book that stands out in my mind is Tomi de Paola’s Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile, which we read and reread until we all knew it by heart. My son loved the story because it was all so familiar: the Nile, the egret and the crocodile, the cruise ship, the museum, the mummies, even the veiled ladies who turned out to be men - and the villains of the story. There was also a locally published book about Bactrian camels, I remember, which was somewhat scientific and dry but nevertheless a favorite, because we had seen camels in the desert, even a few baby camels. Kids do love to read and look at things they are familiar with. Bernadette Simpson has the right idea.

In her colorful ABC book Bernadette Simpson incorporates known and sometimes also arcane information (did you know that the desert fox has fur on its paws allowing it to walk in the boiling hot desert sand?), good photographic illustrations, and here and there embedded in the text questions and reflections for younger readers. I think it would also work very well as a read-aloud text to much smaller children. The alliterative titles draw attention to this literary technique which teachers can exploit for a lesson on alliteration. The text is written in a nicely cadenced and clearly understandable English in fairly large print, with certain vocabulary items underlined and explained in the glossary at the back of the book.

For me the real Escapade began, however, when I went to the author’s website set up as a companion to the ABC book. When you click on “Explore Egypt,” for example, you will find additional photographs, videos, audio recordings, online stories, and web links for each letter item of the ABC. I also really liked the audio recordings of the correct pronunciation of the Egyptian Arabic words that occur in the book, very useful for newly arrived expats.

“Author Advice” provides an explanation of alliteration and tips for kids to create their own alliterative alphabet. Additional links will lead you to surprises like the “First International Collection of Tongue Twisters” in 109 languages, including 118 Dutch tongue twisters and their translations all of which I checked out and found informative and highly entertaining.

In “Teaching Tidbits” you will find ideas for learning activities for upper elementary and middle school students. All in all, this ABC Escapade through Egypt is both a tremendous resource for local English teachers and a fun Egypt book for the general reader. Given that the author is married to an Egyptian and has clearly put down roots in this country, I expect we will see more of her work in the near future.