Review of It so happened...
It so happened...
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The first chapter is ‘How the Camel got his hump’. In this chapter the main character is the Camel.
He did not want to do any work and therefore, the Djinn got angry and cursed him with a hump on his back. It teaches us that we should do our work on time.
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The second chapter is ‘Children at work’. The characters are Velu and Jaya.
Velu ran away from his home in the village because his father was a drunkard. Velu came to Chennai and there met Jaya and became rag picker like Jaya. It shows that in our country many people are very poor; and they are forced to eat out of the dustbin. So, we should try to help the poor and never waste food.
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The third chapter is ‘The Selfish Giant’. The principal characters are the Selfish Giant and the little boy.
The giant did not allow the children to play in his garden but when he saw that children have power to bring spring to his garden, he allowed them to play. The giant once helped one of the children, the little boy in climbing the tree. The boy got very happy and at the time of giant’s death, the boy being God took him to heaven. It brings to light the maxim that ‘you reap what you sow’.
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The story that I liked the most is ‘The Treasure Within’ because it teaches us the moral that we should learn from our mistakes. This is the fourth story.
The main character in the story Hafeez Contractor was not a good child in his class as he used to disturb the whole class. He hated the subject Maths but he learnt from his mistakes; and he started to love Maths; and because of that today he has become a very famous architect. His life teaches us that everyone has different abilities.
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The fifth chapter is ‘Princess September’ and the story revolves round the Princess and her little singing bird.
There is nothing much in the story. The princess put her bird inside the cage but the bird did not take food and water and was sitting idle in one corner of the cage. The Princess saw the condition of the bird and decided to give her freedom. She released the bird and in turn bird promised her that she would come now and then to sing a song for her. This is the story I disliked the most because it was presented in a very unrealistic way. Freedom is important but that moral the story presents in a silly and uninteresting way. So, I found the story not only absurd but also very boring.
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The sixth chapter is ‘The Fight’ and the characters are Ranji and Suraj.
Ranji wanted to swim in the forest pool but Suraj did not allow him to do so. Suraj claimed that the pool belonged to him hence they quarreled and in the process no body won. Both of them were exhausted and decided that the fight will continue next day. Next day Suraj saw Ranji swimming under the water and got surprised because he was not able to swim and dive under the water. He requested Ranji to teach him swimming and diving under the water. Thereafter they started behaving like friends. So, even enemies can become friends if they decide to share.
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The seventh chapter is ‘The Open Window’ and the characters are Mrs. Sappleton and her husband, her two brothers, Vera, her niece and Mr Framton Nuttel, a visitor.
One day her husband and brothers went on a hunting expedition and did not return. In the mean time Mr Nuttel visited Mrs Sappleton. There he was informed by the niece that Mrs. Sappleton’s husband and brothers had drowned while in a hunting trip but their bodies were not recovered. When Mr Nuttel saw through the open window that her husband and brothers were coming back, he thought that they were ghosts and ran away from there. This story tells us that we should not trust people easily.
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The eighth chapter is ‘Jalebis’ and the lead character is a schoolboy.
He did not want to buy jalabies from the fees money but the coins in his pocket forced him to do so. The next day, he thought that he would pay the school fees by the scholarship money he was getting but he did not get the scholarship money. So when the teacher was collecting the school fees, he left the school and went to railway station and crossed the railway track which the elders had warned him not to do so. So he decided to play a game with Allah so that he should get the school fees but by playing the game he did not get the school fees. Here is an interesting but often repeated lesson that if we do not listen to our elders then we could be in grave trouble.
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The last two chapters are ‘The Comet- 1’ and ‘The Comet- 2’ and the main character is Duttada.
He is an amateur astronomer and discovered a comet one day. Comet Dutta was going to collide with earth. The scientists decided to change the path of the comet by giving it a push by means of a nuclear blast on the path of the comet and succeeded in doing so, but according to Indrani Debi, the wife of Duttada, the comet did not cause any ill effect because she performed a yajna with the help of Duttada’s grandson, Khoka. This science fiction tells us that we should try to know more and more about the environment around us and the threats therein to our survival because prevention is always better than cure.
What I felt about my English Book?
I found all the lessons interesting. But still I must make special mention of three lessons because I have very strong feeling with regard to those lessons.
The Selfish Gaint written by Oscar Wilde
I like this story because it tells us that we should be kind to others. It is shown that the giant, who was selfish, did not allow the children to come in his garden and because of that Spring also did not come in his garden; and when he gave up his selfishness, God also pardoned him. It means that we should always be kind to others, so that, all people may like us and this world may become a better place.
The Treasure Within written by Bela Raja
I like this story because this story is very interesting and it tells us that every child has a different style of learning. In this story it is shown that Hafeez Contractor was an unhappy school boy and he did not like to study. He was only good in drawing buildings and because of his excellent designs of buildings he is now one of the India’s leading architects. It means that if we are good in studies but good in some other things then we should give more importance to those things in which we are good.
The Fight written by Ruskin Bond
I didn’t like this chapter because it is about a silly fight. It just showed that two boys (Suraj and Ranji) had a fight because of a pool and later they became friends. I didn't like the way the story ends. It seems as if the end is forced.
It so happened...
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Cover page design
The front cover picture of the book is very interesting but it is not very colourful. So far as colours are concerned it is rather dull. Our sir said in the class that it is about a student who is holding a book and is inside a puzzle thinking about how to get out of the puzzle. The last page of the book is also having a picture which shows that the student is able to solve the puzzle because he/she is sitting above it. The puzzle could be life itself’ and the stories and poems in the book, tells us about different ways to deal with life. For example, the lesson titled ‘The Fight’ teaches us a valuable life lesson that we can always learn from each other if we are willing to share and collaborate. Another good thing avbout the cover page picture and layout is that the title is followed by ellipses’ and it reminded me of my grandmother who used to tell me fairy tales and she always began with the words “Once upon a time…”
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Pictures
The pictures in this book are very colourful and beautiful. I liked those pictures but in many of the books the overlapping of the colours and the outline of the pictures is not correctly done.
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Exercise
There were many Questions in the text book. It was very difficult to cover up the syllabus. I think the Questions should be minimised to lessen the stress on the students and as such, the students will really be able to enjoy the stories. There some very interesting topics at the end of the lesson under the heading 'Think it Over'.
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Binding
Alright.
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Price
Rs.30; and it is quite affordable.
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Availability
The availability of the book was very less; and only a few books were available in the month of August. Only 50 copies were available in Dimapur but there were 90 students in our class.
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Over all Quality
It is not the best but it is acceptable.
