BOOK REVIEW: “ALFABETUL LUI HIPODOR. LIMBA ROMÂNĂ CA LIMBĂ NEMATERNĂ. CLASA A II-A (HIPODOR’S ALPHABET. ROMANIAN LANGUAGE AS SECOND LANGUAGE. SECOND GRADE)”, BY ANTONELA ARIEȘAN, ANDA BRATU (COORD. ELENA PLATON), VOL. I-II-III, EDITURA CASA CĂRŢII DE ŞTIINŢĂ, CLUJ-NAPOCA, 2014-2016, VOL. I - 174P., VOL. II - 196P., VOL. III - 162P.

Abstract

How would you like for the textbook your child is learning the letters from to look like? Which would be the eligibility criteria if you had several variants before you? Would it be the playful aspect or the exactness of the content? Colourful and airy pages or pages that are filled with useful activities? A rich vocabulary or an authentic one? Humour or efficiency? Alfabetul lui Hipodor (Hipodor’s Alphabet), which appeared in three volumes at the Casa Cărții de Știință publishing house in 2014, aims to satisfy  all of these expectations and, to a great extent, it actually succeeds in doing so. The ABC is part of a more ample project, coordinated by Elena Platon, of producing a series of textbooks for Romanian, for primary and middle school, specially designed for children who are non-native Romanian speakers. This undertaking is not a new one, there have been other course materials that were created and that specifically addressed national minorities, but this is a new communicative and friendly approach to learning, which is essential for the children’s subsequent approach to reading and learning in general. Information about the series as well as the audio support for the listening exercises can be found on the project’s website, www.invatam.ro.