The bold theme colors of the layout, associated with the national flag of India (saffron, green, indigo blue), accentuated with crisp white letters framing Fun Facts, is eye-catching. The photographs create India, vibrant, multicultural, a joyful people energetically catapulting their country into high tech modernity, while enjoying good food, singing, dancing, festivals, and raunchy Bollywood movies.(Another Fun Fact: In 2010 advanced film technology enables Indian films to be exported to 90 countries at a net worth of US$ 1.3 billion.) Carefully developed by literacy experts, it is part of "Scholastic Blastoff Reader 5, Exploring Countries" series, an introduction to readers in grades three to seven to the geography and culture of twenty countries. They move children from "learning to read" to "reading to learn." At the end of the book are Fast Facts About India; Glossary; To Learn More at the Library and On the Web and an Index. A picture is worth a thousand words. The pictures on pages 16 and 17 indicate that minimal and dingy public schools are the only option for an education in India. Schools and University colleges, some private and others partly funded by government are excluded. Many of these schools, over a hundred years old, with distinctive architecture and campuses make telling photographs. The medium of instruction is English. Rigorous competitive academic standards enable their students to enter prestigious Indian and foreign universities and Institutes of Science and Technology. Teachers and parents may help readers to build on the facts from this book. The reference to "information technology," in the section "Going to School" on page 17, and "Working" pages 18 and 19, could include data from The Central Intelligence Agency World Fact book on People and Society: "India has capitalized on its large educated English speaking population to become a major exporter of information technology services and software workers." Indians transcended geography in the past five years, by the cheap, ubiquitous wireless connection to the Internet, beginning a social and economic revolution. Cell phones empower the rural small farmers to benefit from direct information on current prices for their crops and produce. Urban workers connect with an expanding job market in a wide range of modern industries and a multitude of services e.g. India's pharmaceutical industry is third largest globally in terms of value. Sales of Pharmaceuticals to the U.S.A. in 2010, was $50 billion. Page 4 has an excellent map showing the locations of India's closest south Asian neighbors: Pakistan and Bangladesh are defined in their constitutions as Islamic states; China a one party republic; Myanmar a military dictatorship; Nepal and Bhutan are hereditary monarchies. India is defined in its constitution and functions as a secular democratic republic. On page 25, the words "secular democratic," inserted before "constitution" completes the definition. The glossary can explain these terms in simple words. This addition will enrich development of geo-political concepts.
