Hamari Hindi

Learn to read and write Hindi, one letter at a time, with four friends who are learning it too.

Ananya's family comes from Mysore. Noel's from Goa. Kabir's from Lucknow. Jonali's from Guwahati. Every week they meet in a Hindi class at their community center, and your child joins them. Together they go to a circus, a birthday party, a lake picnic, the zoo, a county fair, a Holi celebration in the park, Thanksgiving dinner and Diwali night, and pick up new letters and words at every stop.

Hamari Hindi is written for children of Indian origin growing up in the United States, whether they hear Hindi at home or Kannada, Konkani, Assamese, Gujarati, Tamil or English instead. It assumes no Hindi at all. It starts with the first letters and ends with children writing their own short stories and poems.

How the book teaches

• One step at a time. 27 chapters in four parts: consonants first (Chapters 1-7), then the vowel signs (matras), then short sentences, then richer sentences that ask, describe and tell a story.
• Real reading from Chapter 1. Every word a child is asked to read uses only letters already taught, so reading is always possible, never a guess.
• Devanagari only. Hindi is never written in English letters. Each word is broken into its letters (क + म + ल) so children can sound it out.
• Games, not drills. Each early chapter opens with a big find-it picture and ends with matching games. Children find, match and act out words before they write them.
• Stories in every chapter. Short stories where English carries the plot and the Hindi words are for the child to read, growing into full Hindi sentences as skills grow.
• A poetry recital to finish. The last chapter has children reading, clapping and writing simple Hindi poems.

Inside the book

• 27 illustrated chapters with picture word tables, sound hints, tracing and writing practice
• A quick check and a short homework list in every chapter
• Full-color illustrations of everyday life in America, with eight classmates from many backgrounds
• Appendices: the alphabet, vowel signs, numbers 1-20, classroom words, grammar at a glance, a Hindi-English dictionary and English-Hindi words by topic
• A progress chart (मेरी प्रगति) to color in, chapter by chapter

For parents and teachers

Designed for a weekly Hindi class or Saturday school with practice at home, and easy to use one-on-one. Instructions are in English with a few everyday Hindi classroom words (सुनो, देखो, बोलो, लिखो, शाबाश) that children absorb by using them. A note for families explains how to help at home, even if your own Hindi feels rusty.