Omar Can Help by Lynne Rickards is a Red band reader in the Cambridge Reading Adventures series for Prep at Lahore Grammar School (LGS). The cover is a sunny yellow one, showing three children in school uniform building a house from lolly sticks, with a pot of glue on the table. Moni Perez is credited for the illustrations.
A book about helping is a good book for Prep, because five-year-olds are at the age when they want to help with everything. In the 2027-28 session, this story gives them a hero named Omar and a refrain they can read with pride.
What happens in the book
According to the teaching notes, this is a story about Omar and his friends Zara, Leila and Beno. Omar is keen to help, but often his best intentions go wrong. When the roof of the girls’ house is no good, Zara says ‘Can you help us, Omar?’, and ‘Omar knew what to do’ is the refrain that runs through the whole book: he puts one more stick in to hold up the roof. On pages 6 and 7 Beno asks ‘Can you help me, Omar?’, and on page 10 it is snack time and Zara has brought a cake to share, cut into slices. Then, ‘Oh dear! Look at Beno’s face.’
The language is a few simple sentence structures repeated in different settings, with speech marks to guide expression. Phonically regular words (‘can’, ‘help’, ‘stick’) give children a chance to blend, the vowel digraph /ew/ appears, and compound words such as ‘everyone’ and ‘outside’ can be split into parts.
What your child learns from it
The publisher’s teaching notes list these learning outcomes. A child who reads this book can:
- read simple words by sounding out and blending phonemes from left to right;
- use syntax and context when reading for meaning;
- locate, read and write high-frequency words.
How to read it together at home
The guided reading lesson printed in the book gives a simple routine you can follow:
- Read the title. Point out Omar on the front cover, and his friends Zara and Leila.
- Say: this is a book about Omar. His friends ask him to help. He always knows what to do.
- On pages 2 and 3, find the part where Zara says ‘Can you help us, Omar?’ and make your voice sound like a question.
- On page 4, practise the refrain ‘Omar knew what to do’ with your finger under every word.
- On pages 6 and 7, find Beno’s name and the same question using speech marks.
Fun learning links beyond the book
For maths, Zara brought a cake to share. How would she cut it so there is a piece for everyone? Cut a real chapati or paper circle into equal slices. For design and technology, Omar helped the girls fix the roof of their house, so explore different roof shapes with sticks, card or building blocks.
About the Red band
Red band is where the teaching notes ask children to start following the print with their eyes and to use a finger only at points of difficulty, while reading longer, repeated sentences.
Who, when, where and why
Whom: Prep children (about five years old). When: during the 2027-28 session. Where: at school, at home, at the table with sticks and glue. Why: to practise reading simple words, a refrain and speech. Book lists at LGS are almost the same from campus to campus, with a few campuses following their own for some subjects, so message us your campus name first and we will confirm this exact book with you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the refrain?
‘Omar knew what to do.’
Who are the other characters?
Zara, Leila and Beno.
What is the phonics focus?
Regular words such as can, help and stick, and the /ew/ vowel digraph.
Ready to order? Send us a WhatsApp message with the class and school, and we will confirm availability and dispatch Omar Can Help carefully packed, with Cash on Delivery across Pakistan. Prefer to see it first? Our Lahore shop is open to visitors.
