P Is for Poppadoms!: An Indian Alphabet Book by Kabir Sehgal

P Is for Poppadoms!: An Indian Alphabet Book Reviews

• 
  La Coccinelle

  Aside from a couple of awkwardly phrased sentences, this is a strong alphabet book that teaches readers Hindi words from A to Z. Colourful pictures highlight the text while illustrating a variety of objects, animals, and concepts. There's a nice little explanation about languages in India at the back, as well as a full list of the Hindi words and how they're written in the Devanagari script.
  
  All in all, this is a lovely alphabet book. I haven't seen too many that focus on a language other than English (while simultaneously being aimed at English speakers), so this was a nice find.
  
  Quotable moment:
  
  

  
• 
  Shiloah

  Beautiful illustrations. We all learned some new things from this book.
• 
  Kathryn

  This is bright and engaging yet also left me a bit underwhelmed. Seven of the letters have to do with food. I get that food is something that is fun and easy to relate to, but I felt that was just too much focus on food when so much else was left out. For example, the only thing we learn about India's geography is that Uttar Pradesh is a state located in Northern India (and that if it were a country it would be the seventh largest in the world) and that it holds the ancient city of Varanasi. Some choices just felt odd, such as L is for Ladakee (girl) when they did not include the word for boy. I appreciate they point out the different languages spoken in India, and the section in the back "Want to write the words in this book in Hindi? Here's how!" is great. The nods to religion are fairly cursory, though I think it’s sufficient for the target audience: they mention Nirvaan, Om and Yoga, and Varanasi is mentioned as one of India's most sacred cities. Diwali is mentioned as "India's grandest festival" but the way it is described, one could easily assume everyone in India celebrates Diwali. While certainly the majority of Indians are Hindus, it should be noted that India is home to one of the world's largest Muslim populations*. If we can spend seven letters talking about food items, it seems there should have at least been some mention that not everyone in India follows Hinduism. Anyway, take it for what it's worth, a fun but incomplete introduction to India for the pre-K set. Hopefully it will spark their interest to learn more!
  
  *Hindus make up 79.8% of India's 1.2 billion people in the 2021 census. 94% of the world's Hindus live in India
  Muslims comprise 14.2% of Indians. India is home to one of the world's largest Muslim populations, surpassed only by Indonesia
  Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains together make up 6% of the population
  --noted on BBC 9-21-21 "Pew study: Little change in India's religious make-up in 70 years"
• 
  Andrew

  A is for Aam (mango) to Z is for Zaban (or language), Kabir and Surishtha Sehgal give readers a great introduction into India's food, culture, history, animals and lifestyle through the Alphabet. Incredibly simplistic but vibrantly colored illustrations by Hazel Ito accentuate every word.
  The Sehgal's writing also gives readers a unique fact about each letter and its' according words' meaning.
  I learned something new today. Perhaps you can too!
• 
  Amy Layton

  I found this to be a bright, informative way of learning about the alphabet and another culture!  The "F is for Falooda" page had me aching for a vegan recipe...so come this summer, I'm gonna try my hand at it.  Why not--isn't that what this book is all about?  It's engaging and fun.  My only caveat is there's one awkward moment where the authors insert themselves into the story...I can't tell if I liked that or not.  But hey, it's for the kiddos, and they might not even notice it!  
  
  Overall, this is a great book, and one that should definitely be shared when teaching your young ones the alphabet.
  
  Review cross-listed
  here!
• 
  Ashley Adams

  A unique alphabet book celebrating Indian culture, with an underlying positive message of feminism. Could have benefitted from a pronunciation guide, but still a wonderful introduction to the Hindi language.
• 
  Allie

  This is a really cute alphabet book highlighting Hindi words and Indian concepts. My favorite part was the missing X! One very major downside, though, is that there's no pronunciation anywhere. The illustrations are cute, but not particularly memorable.
• 
  Bonnie Grover

  I adore alphabet books. What a fun way to explore the Indian culture. As a teacher I would pair this book with a novel for help in building background knowledge. The illustrations are rich with details and emotions.
• 
  Chinook

  The girls really enjoyed this. We used the letters to quiz Maddie on the alphabet and both girls related various stories and info about the pictures. At the end they both did the three poses pictures on the page about yoga.
• 
  Edward Sullivan

  A charming alpahbet book celebrating India's rich culture, foods, unique animals, and more.
• 
  Grab

  wonderful colours and great for expanding kids' knowledge of India
• 
  Leslie Marley

  Excellent for learning about the interesting foods and culture of India.
• 
  Kristen Thorp

  302/365
• 
  Y.Poston

  Beautiful abc book about India!
  Colorful & informative
• 
  Kim

  Easy to simplify for toddlers. Her favorites: mango and counting. Illustrations are wonderful.