We publish two true bilingual story books: My Big Naam Adventure ($18.00 AUD) and Meet the Khalsa Princesses ($18.00 AUD). Both carry Punjabi and English together, and both are written to be read aloud to a child rather than read by one.
A third title, Akhran Di Udaari ($20.00 AUD), carries English throughout but is a Gurmukhi primer rather than a story. It matters here because it is where an early reader goes next.
That is the honest list. Two story books, not twenty.
First, what “early reader” actually means
The phrase gets used loosely, so it is worth pinning down — most book lists never do.
An early reader is a child who is beginning to decode print themselves, typically somewhere between five and seven. Established literacy milestones put a three- to four-year-old at “enjoying listening to and talking about storybooks” and beginning to “identify some letters.” Decoding words comes after that.
This matters because it splits into two quite different needs:
The pre-reader, roughly 3 to 5
Listens, looks, and points. Needs short pages, large illustrations, and an adult voice. Cannot decode anything, in either language.
The early reader, roughly 5 to 7
Decodes short English words and recognises some Gurmukhi letters. Can follow a page of English independently but still needs an adult for the Punjabi.
Almost every bilingual Sikh book on the market, ours included, is written for the first group. They are read-aloud books. That is not a criticism — it is what the category is — but a parent buying for a six-year-old who wants to read alone should know it before ordering.
The two books
My Big Naam Adventure — $18.00 AUD
A Punjabi-English bilingual picture book about Naam Simran, framed as an adventure. Stated for ages four and above, which makes it the earlier of the two.
The publisher’s description names both audiences directly: a parent “looking to encourage your child to do Simran,” and an educator “looking to add some diversity to your classroom bookshelf.” It is the one to start with, and the one that works for a pre-reader.
Meet the Khalsa Princesses — $18.00 AUD
Bilingual Punjabi-English, built around the Khalsa virtues — Seva, Simran and Sikhi Sidak — with each princess carrying one lesson.
Because it is a sequence of characters rather than one continuous arc, it reads well in short sittings, which suits a child who will not sit through a whole book. It asks slightly more attention than the first, so it lands better from about five.
It also does something the format is uniquely good at: it uses Punjabi words inside English sentences for concepts that do not translate cleanly. Seva is not “service.” A bilingual book teaches the word and the idea at the same time, which is the strongest argument for the whole category.
Akhran Di Udaari — $20.00 AUD
Not a story book — a Gurmukhi primer with tracing, colouring and practice exercises. It includes English transliteration and translations throughout and is built to be used by a parent who does not read Punjabi.
It belongs on this page because it is the step after the story books, for the child who starts asking what the letters say.
The part nobody explains: “bilingual” means three different things
A book described as bilingual can be any of these, and they are not interchangeable.
- Parallel text. Full Punjabi and full English, side by side or on facing pages. The child gets the complete story in either language. Best for a household where the adults’ Punjabi is stronger than the child’s, or the reverse.
- Embedded vocabulary. English sentences carrying Punjabi words for things that have no English equivalent — Seva, Naam, Simran. Best for building specific vocabulary rather than reading fluency.
- Punjabi written in Roman letters so a non-reader of Gurmukhi can say it aloud. Useful for pronunciation, useless for teaching the script.
Most books mix them. Before you buy any bilingual book, from us or anyone, look at a sample page and work out which kind it is — because a parent hoping to teach Gurmukhi who buys a transliterated book has bought the wrong thing, and the label alone will not tell them.
What we do not have
Worth saying plainly.
We do not have a bilingual decodable reader — the kind with controlled vocabulary a five-year-old sounds out alone. As far as we can find, nobody publishes one in Gurmukhi and English. It is the real gap in this category.
We do not have a bilingual board book for under-twos. For that age a soft toy does more than any book.
Our two colouring books are English-only, not bilingual. The Khalsa Phulwari Colouring Book is 48 pages from age two, and it is the right buy for a child too young for either story book — just not a bilingual one.
Building a shelf for a class or Gurdwara school
If you are stocking a shelf rather than buying for one child, the sequence matters more than the titles.
| Stage | What the shelf needs | From us |
| Pre-reader, 3–5 | Read-aloud picture books, one adult voice per group | My Big Naam Adventure |
| Emerging, 5–6 | Short-section books that survive interruption | Meet the Khalsa Princesses |
| Early reader, 5–7 | Letter work, not more stories | Akhran Di Udaari |
| Beyond | Punjabi-only texts once decoding is secure | The wider book range |
Buy multiples of one title rather than singles of four. Ten children who can each hold a copy beats four books being shared, and a bilingual book only works if the child can see the page.
Frequently asked questions
How many bilingual story books do you publish?
Two: My Big Naam Adventure and Meet the Khalsa Princesses, both $18.00 AUD. A third, Akhran Di Udaari, carries English throughout but is a primer.
Can a 5-year-old read these independently?
Generally not. Both are read-aloud books. A confident five-year-old may manage the English alone; the Punjabi will still need an adult.
Which should I buy first?
My Big Naam Adventure. It is stated from age four and is the simpler of the two.
Do I need to read Punjabi to use them?
No. The English carries the story in both books, and Akhran Di Udaari is explicitly designed for a parent learning alongside the child.
Do you have bilingual books for babies?
No. We do not publish a bilingual board book, and for under-twos a soft toy is the better first Sikh gift.
Are your colouring books bilingual?
No — both are English-only.
Is a bilingual book better than an English one about Sikhi?
For teaching vocabulary, yes. For teaching the script, only if it uses real Gurmukhi rather than transliteration. For simply getting a story into a child, an English book they will actually sit through beats a bilingual one they will not.
Can I use these in a school where most children are not Sikh?
Yes, and it works well. A bilingual page shows every child that more than one script exists, which is usually a first for a class.
