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Literacy intervention programs choose Hoopoe Books to help children build language and reading skills

The time from birth through age eight is the most critical for children in acquiring the “building blocks” of literacy, yet an alarming number of children today are entering school without the foundation they need to succeed. Fortunately, early intervention programs combining phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency development, and reading comprehension can greatly help most children.

There is growing recognition among educators that the Teaching-Stories^tm collected and written for children by Idries Shah and published by ISHK's Hoopoe Books are especially effective in the development of reading, language, and thinking skills. Originating from the rich story-telling traditions of Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the Middle East, these teaching tales, somewhat like poetry, are designed to activate contextual thinking skills associated with the right side of the brain. The beautiful, universal stories resonate with children and encourage a love of good literature that can affect them positively throughout their lives.

Now in its fourth year, our literacy project has touched more than 100,000 children who own or have access to a Hoopoe book through a number of established literacy programs and organizations. Responding to the current nationwide school budget crisis, Hoopoe Books has launched a new initiative, “Share Literacy,” to gain the support of corporate and other co-sponsors for expanding book donations to more of these vital programs.

Many more literacy organizations are hoping to receive Hoopoe books. We need co-sponsors to fund the cost of printing. If you can help, please contact us. To make a tax-deductible donation, please click here.

Books for Afghanistan Program

In 2006 we received official permission from Afghanistan's Minister of Education in Kabul authorizing us to provide Hoopoe books and complementary teaching materials to schools and children in Afghanistan.

Many of these remarkable Teaching-Stories have been told by campfire and candlelight in this part of the world for more than 1,000 years. We plan to provide bilingual Dari and Pashto Hoopoe titles for distribution to schools, orphanages and libraries throughout Afghanistan.

The need there is desperate. Our aim is to provide as many children as possible with their very own books. Certainly, for at least 95% of them, these will be the first books they own, and they may well be tales that their grandparents recognize from their own childhood. For the older, more conservative Afghans, we hope that repatriating these stories in book form will be a comforting bridge to literacy and the development of skills that the younger generations will need in order to survive and contribute in the modern world.

Our progress so far:

               

We have raised funds to cover the translation and layout of five titles as bilingual Dari-Pashto editions, and for Teacher Guides in both languages to accompany each title.

We have hired a Field Officer and ISHK-Hoopoe Books representative in Kabul to handle details there.

We have signed a Partnership Agreement with the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) to assist us with receiving, transporting and distributing future books. ARCS has a youth program in 24 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces which is supported by the organization's network of 41,000 volunteers including school teachers and government employees.

250,000 copies of the Dari-Pashto bilingual paperback edition of THE LION WHO SAW HIMSELF IN THE WATER by Idries Shah were printed and distributed by ISAF - NATO. The photos opposite show Afghan girls reading this new translation.

We have donated 4,400 English paperbacks to International Orphan Care, whose US office is in Laguna Beach and who will handle shipping themselves.

We are in communication with a number of schools and orphanages inside Afghanistan who have placed orders. Our Field Officer and ARCS will continue to collect orders. Our hope is to provide at least 250,000 of all five titles.

YOU CAN HELP:
By making a tax-deductible donation to this effort, please click here.

By purchasing Hoopoe Books online, click here.

By holding a storytelling event as a fundraiser for this project. For more information, email hoopoebooks @ aol.com.

IN ADDITION, WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

• Organizations (schools, orphanages, libraries, etc.) in Afghanistan that might need these books and teacher guides
• Nonprofit organizations serving the Afghan community that might wish to purchase Dari-Pashto translations of these books for use in the USA and Canada

Please write to Sally Mallam, Director, at hoopoebooks @ aol.com or by fax at 650-948-9546 if you can help with the above.

SOME EARLY CHILDHOOD READING PROGRAMS THAT RECEIVED HOOPOE BOOKS:

Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Nova Southeastern University, North Miami Beach
The Spanish-English bilingual editions of The Farmer's Wife (La Esposa del Granjero) and The Lion Who Saw Himself in the Water (El León que se vio en el Agua) were selected by one of the nation's largest teacher graduate-education program to train Head Start and public school first-grade teachers. The books are also being distributed to children in Head Start centers.

Learning Leaders, New York City
A donation of 3,550 Hoopoe Books was made to Learning Leaders, the largest school volunteer program in the U.S.

“They are incredibly beautiful and well-written books and unique and it's wonderful to be able to give books that feature stories and people from Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the Middle East. It is certainly extremely important and timely to introduce these stories now given the world situation ... Thousands of NYC public school children and hundreds of teachers have benefited from your kindness and generosity.”

Jinnie Spiegler
Vice President for Programs

Literacy Caravan, Connecticut
A donation of 2,000 books and 80 teacher manuals was made to Literacy Caravan, a mobile van staffed by early childhood specialists who visit low income pre- and elementary schools to show parents and teachers how to introduce children to books and reading.

“I want to thank you and express my overwhelming appreciation for the look, feel, and most importantly, the content of the books. These books share not only wonderful folk stories from a region not often represented in current children's literature, but there is also an innate potential for supporting skills such as prediction, critical thinking, and social/emotional development skills of demonstrating empathy and conflict resolution. This is all done with humor, bold attractive art, and a strategic use of vocabulary.”

Laurie Noe
Literacy Caravan Director of Education

First Book, San Antonio (Texas) Chapter
A donation of 7,000 Spanish-English bilingual editions of Hoopoe Books was made to the San Antonio chapter of this national non-profit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.

“The Lion Who Saw Himself in the Water is a real treasure, and we're thrilled to be able to give it to San Antonio's children, These kids have little or no access to books, and many of them have never owned one before. This will help them know the magic of reading, which is the key to a child's future, and will also let them share it with their families at home.”

Mary Rich
Chairperson of First Book San Antonio
VP of Education, KLRN-TV in San Antonio.

Michigan Department of Education
The Lion Who Saw Himself in the Water was chosen as part of the statewide R.E.A.D.Y. (Read, Educate and Develop Youth) program designed to make sure children have the necessary pre-reading skills (language, vocabulary, alphabet) by the time they enter school. R.E.A.D.Y. is part of an award-winning and innovative reading plan launched in 1998 by Michigan governor John Engler to help every student in the state read by the end of third grade.

“The Lion Who Saw Himself in the Water engages the children not only with its story, but also with its beautiful illustrations. And it teaches them valuable lessons about fear and how others see us.”

Jan Ellis
R.E.A.D.Y., Michigan Department of Education.

National Urban Alliance/Indianapolis Public Schools
ISHK gave a grant of 15,000 books that were distributed to children in 55 Indianapolis Title I elementary schools. The children were allowed to keep the books, and for many it was the first book they ever owned. The NUA included a packet for classroom teachers, with information about Afghanistan, a map of the country, and a teacher's manual for the books.

“An important feature of this program was that the children could continue exploring and enjoying their books outside of the classroom. In many cases, these were the first books that these young people had ever owned. Allowing student to develop a sense of pride in book ownership is a first step in helping them, learn to love reading and to enjoy high-quality literature.”

NUA Report.

If you or someone you know is interested in co-sponsoring the printing and donation of Hoopoe Books to literacy programs, please contact us.

To preview the illustrations, read reviews, download the free teacher manuals, and purchase the books at a special discount, visit our Hoopoe Books website.

The NPR program “All Things Considered” featured Hoopoe stories in a program about Afghanistan. Hear the audio. © Copyright NPR® 2001.

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