ਦੇਖ!
The Know-It-All
Set 2, book two in the ਗਾਂ ਤੇ ਕਾਂ series. The crow gives the cow a tour of the field and names everything. He starts off right, then gets it all wrong, and your child gets to put him straight. New words: ਦੇਖ (look), ਇਹ (this) and ਪਾਣੀ (water).
Words you'll read
- ਗਾਂ
- ਕਾਂ
- ਹਾਂ
- ਦੇਖ
- ਇਹ
- ਪਾਣੀ
Your child's word in this book: ਨਾ. Each time it's coming, pause and let them shout it.
How to read this book
This is a controlled-vocabulary reader — a little book your child can read on their own. It uses only a handful of Punjabi words, repeated often, so a brand-new reader succeeds from the very first page.
- Read it together first, pointing at each word as you say it.
- Then let them read it back to you — sounding out the Gurmukhi.
- Reread it. Kids reread what makes them laugh, and rereading is how reading becomes automatic.
- Turn the English captions off (button below) once they know the story, for pure Gurmukhi practice.
What this book is really about
For grown-ups: the crow names three things in the field correctly, so your child sees each word with its picture. Then he gets them all wrong, and your child puts him straight. Correcting a confident crow is the most fun way to remember a word. He never learns, and at the end the one thing he can't name is himself.
“Look! Look! Look!”
“Look! This is grass!”
“Look! This is water!”
“Look! This is the cow!”
“Look! This is grass!” Is it?
(Tell him! ਨਾ! ਪਾਣੀ!)
“No? No! Grass! Grass!”
Splash.
“…Water.”
“Look! This is water!” Is it?
(Tell him! ਨਾ! ਘਾਹ!)
“No? Yes! Water!” Then: “…Grass.”
“Look! This is the crow!” Is it?
(Tell him! ਨਾ! ਗਾਂ!)
“Crow? Cow? Cow? Crow? …Yes?”
“Look! This is…”
He has no idea.
“Crow,” says the cow.
Words in this book
- ਗਾਂ gaan cow
- ਕਾਂ kaan crow
- ਹਾਂ haan yes
- ਦੇਖ dekh look
- ਇਹ ih this
- ਪਾਣੀ paani water
After this book, your child can read 6 Punjabi words. Read it together, then let them read it back to you — the repetition is where the reading comes from.
Where to go next
- Sikh children's books Illustrated stories to read together — Fateh Singh, Simran Kaur, and the Gurus.
- Shabad Stories Bilingual bedtime books built around a single line of Gurbani.
- Punjabi picture dictionary Hundreds of everyday Gurmukhi words with pictures, to grow the words they know.
- Learn Gurmukhi Letters, matras and tracing worksheets — the writing side of the same skill.