Fun Words: Animals

Fun Words: Animals is an interactive word book for children aged 4 to 9 in which they discover the names of animals from around the world in English, in Arabic, or in both.

Children choose the language they want: English, Arabic, or the two side by side. For each animal they listen to how its name is pronounced. Then they use the microphone to record themselves saying it, play it back and compare it with what they heard. Hearing a word, saying it and then hearing themselves say it is a simple way to make a new word stick.

The cover shows a cheeky monkey, an orange fox, a woolly sheep and a spotted cow, the kind of familiar animals young children love to point at and name. This is the first of the Fun Words animal books, and Animals 2, 3 and 4 go on to more.

For a child learning Arabic, a word book like this builds vocabulary one word at a time, and practising out loud builds the confidence to speak. Choosing both languages lets children link a word they already know to its Arabic name. Arabic is the language of the Qur'an, and many families want their children to hear it and say it from an early age.

Parents can sit alongside, take turns with the microphone and see whose word sounds closest. Fun Words is a Miraj original.