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Sue Huband, Robert Newby Grech: Exploring Malta series, Miller Distributors Ltd, 2012, 40pp., €3.99 per book
The range will go a long way towards supplementing academia with a more fun and informal approach to history- Ramona Depares
Our country’s history is a chequered and fascinating one indeed, a fact that might not always be as appreciated by the young ones as we’d like it to be.
Those of a certain generation will remember with many a groan the dry and boring history lessons that students used to be subjected to in those not-too-far-off days. It is indeed a shame when the colourful details of our heritage are eschewed in favour of bare facts and the recitation of important dates.
Today, history lessons have, undoubtedly, taken on a more interactive and absorbing approach in schools and the new additions to the Exploring Malta range of activity books that have just been released by Miller Distributors will certainly go a long way towards supplementing academia with a more fun and informal approach to the subject.
The Exploring Malta series, mainly targeted towards five- to 10-year-olds, consists of four glossy books, each focusing on a specific aspect related to our country’s culture and history.
The first one, called simply An Activity Book, was released last year and is now being re-published, together with three new additions to the series.
The series offers a good, basic geographical and historical background to the island.
Although presented mainly in English, the first book offer a useful glossary of Maltese terms with respect to particular topics; this style is particularly useful for those younger ones who are having problems grasping our language.
The introductory book covers most of those topics that are today synonymous with Maltese culture: the national costume, parish feasts, traditional legends, popular beaches and places of interest such as Grand Harbour, the Mosta Dome, the Roman House and so forth. There is also one section dedicated to Gozo.
What makes the series different from your typical text books is the fact that all these sections are not limited to a written explanation but are also accompanied by a variety of word games, drawing activities, puzzles, colouring pictures, mazes and even arts and crafts.
To mention one example, the instructions for building a miniature sur (bastion) will definitely go down well with the kids.
The three new books in the series each focus on a particular period of our history.
All the information is presented in anecdotal snippets, which makes them more palatable for the easily-bored mind. The amount of illustrations used also helps no end.
There is a book dedicated to the Knights of St John, another one to the Great Siege and a third one to World War II.
The latter is particularly interesting because it contains a substantial amount of genuine photography from the National War Museum Association, which makes it very easy for the reader to view the topic from the human angle as opposed to the purely academic one.
Put it this way: it is one thing to be told to learn that people had to be moved to underground shelters but quite another to actually see photographic evidence of what life in these shelters entailed.
The other two books are also well illustrated and the occasional humorous touch is added. In most cases the illustrations can be coloured in.
Moreover, both books use a very clever technique in order to stimulate the readers’ imagination, using a series of questions at the end of every topic to encourage further thinking, perhaps even writing, on the subject.
To conclude, the Exploring Malta series offers a fun way to get young readers interested in Maltese history and heritage and will make a good supplement to existing text books.