Message from Ameena Saiyid (OBE, SI), Publisher and Managing Director
Proudly Pakistani-owned, Lightstone Publishers publish high-quality, affordable books for schools in Pakistan, with teacher’s guides and lesson plans, and we develop teachers professionally. Muse's digital resources designed with the STEM approach support our courses by helping primary school teachers teach Maths, Science, Urdu, and English through games, stories, songs, and animations. Many of our books are developed indigenously while some include content from renowned publishers: all meet the Pakistan National Curriculum objectives and are available throughout Pakistan. Our maths and science courses have been developed in alliance with leading publishers in Singapore, a world leader in maths and science education. Lightstone books build 21st century skills: critical thinking, creativity, compassion, collaboration, and communication. We also publish fiction and non-fiction for adults.
Message from Zubeida Mustafa, Journalist. February 2020
Lightstone’s debut in Pakistan’s publishing world will be widely welcomed by readers, writers and educationists alike. With Ameena Saiyid at its helm, Lightstone promises to provide the diversity, competition, and professionalism that is needed to boost book production in the country. Ameena Saiyid has a rich and varied experience of over three decades of book publishing as the former MD of OUP. Her magic touch transformed school textbook production, making it the pillar of the publishing industry. We can expect Lightstone to bring the same perfection and quality to its products that Ameena is known for. Happy reading!
Message from Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Professor of History, Forman Christian College; Professor Emeritus, Iqra University; Former Principal, Lahore College for Women; Chair, National Commission on the Status of Women. 2022
What better choice for a society in want of knowledge. Ameena Saiyid’s name is not new to the publishing world. She has been engaged with the publishing business almost all her life. Publishing is not merely a project nor only a business but it is an art inclusive of aesthetics and presentation. It is especially true of the books for children. At a tender age, the mind collects impressions and beautiful books bring the promise of a good learning process needed to further the understanding of concepts and sharpen sensitivities. School textbooks and related books develop and expand knowledge needed to cater to the imagination of the child. I am sure a connoisseur like Ameena Saiyid, through her publishing house, Lightstone, will be catering not only for information and knowledge but also stimulating the imagination to make learning a thing of joy. I hope that, this year, Lightstone books will again be great gifts for the teacher and the taught. Ameena Saiyid and her team are ready to spread the rainbow for keen young minds.
Message from Shanaz Wazir Ali , Sitara e Imtiaz, Former Minister of State for Education; President, SZABIST; Trustee, Education Trust Nasra School. October 2021
The education crisis in Pakistan, often called The Education Emergency, is reflected in multiple mirrors: inadequate budgets, poor physical infrastructure, low levels of teacher competencies, scarce teaching/learning resources, overloaded curriculum, traditional and outmoded assessment systems and ideological custody. In this challenging landscape, Lightstone Publishers, led by pioneer Ameena Saiyid, former MD of Oxford University Press, provides a bright ray of light with an array of textbooks developed on international standards, employing sound evidence-based content, sequence, visual/pictorial aids based on learning and assessment theory and practice.
Good quality, durable, affordable and accompanied by Teachers’ Manuals, Lightstone’s textbooks are a pace-setter addition to the choices for schools. For every child and every teacher, the heart of the educational experience is a book. Lightstone makes that engagement between students, teachers, curriculum, learning outcomes and achievement an enriching experience.
Message from Abbas Husain, Director, Teachers' Development Centre. October 2020
The World Bank Report on learning poverty in Pakistan [October 2020] draws attention to an alarming crisis ahead of us. This calls for a radical and creative outlook to the situation we expect from people like Ameena Saiyid and her team. Lightstone Publishers have focused correctly on the four corners of the educational scenario in Pakistan. Students need high-quality content at affordable prices: check. Teachers need training to deliver material well: check. Schools need a highly reputable set of books by authors they can rely on: check. And all of that should be bolstered by digital resources, linked to the multiple devices now in everyone’s hands: check. With this rich array on offer, Lightstone Publishers promises to be the go-to place for educational leaders, school heads, and teachers. I commend Ameena Saiyid and her team for their efforts and endorse their work fully.
*Preprimary / Pre-school consists of three levels: prenursery, nursery, and KG
SCHOOL COURSES
(click course titles below for more information)
Catalogue2023_Lightstone_School_textbook.pdfMathematics
Original publisher: Marshall Cavendish Education, Singapore. Imported by Lightstone Publishers
Original publisher: Star Publishing, Singapore. Adapted and published for Pakistan by Lightstone Publishers.
Click here to view video reviews by school teachers of the Targeting Mathematics series
English
Originally published by Pascal Press, Australia in 2016/07. Reprinted for Pakistan by Lightstone Publishers in 2019
Click here to view video reviews by school teachers of the Targeting Grammar series
Levels 1-3 (for pre-Nursery, Nursery, and KG) are available. The rest are forthcoming
Original publisher: Lightstone Publishers
Urdu [Pre nursery to class 8]
Computer Studies [classes 1 to 8]
Science [KG to class 5]
Original publisher: Star Publishing, Singapore. Adapted and published for Pakistan by Lightstone Publishers
Social Studies [Classes 1 to 5]
Our Wonderful World: Social Studies (books 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 for classes 1 to 5 respectively) by Nighat Gaya Bajwa. Editorial Consultant. Batul Ali.
Fully compliant with the Single National Curriculum (SNC)
Original publisher: Lightstone Publishers
DIGITAL RESOURCES
Our Digital Resources Partner: Muse by Sabaq
Muse's digital resources designed with the STEM approach support our courses by helping primary school teachers teach Maths, Science, Urdu, and English through engaging lessons that include games, stories, songs, and animations resulting in improved student performance. Over 1,000 digital lessons and practice exercises are offered. Pupils have a more immersive and wholesome experience of learning and become better thinkers and problem-solvers.
FREE DIGITAL RESOURCES THAT WE RECOMMEND, THOUGH WE HAVE NO AFFILIATION OR CONNECTION WITH THEM
Khan Academy Kids for children ages two to seven (pre-school to class 1)
"The robust Khan Academy Kids curriculum and original content make learning engaging and fun" (Khan Academy Kids website).
"Preliminary results of a randomized, controlled study led by psychology researcher David Arnold at the University of Massachusetts Amherst show that 4- and 5-year-olds from low income families who used a Khan Academy Kids App for three months at home achieved 'substantial gains in their pre-literacy skills that brought them nearly to the national average...... which is especially exciting given that the app is free" (University of Massachussetts Ahmerst News Office, April 20, 2020).
BBC Learning English
GENERAL BOOKS
Catalogue General Book 2023_New.pdfAvailable Now (alphabetical by author's/editor's first name)
Quotes from the Quaid (2nd ed), edited by Liaquat Merchant and Sharif Al Mujahid. Foreword by Stanley Wolpert
Forthcoming (alphabetical by author's first name)
Walking a Tightrope: A Memoir by Tariq Khosa (forthcoming)
Our General Books Are Available From the Following Booksellers
Karachi: Liberty Books, Book Ocean, Book Mart
Lahore: Liberty Books, Anees Book Corner, Iqbal Book Corner, Variety Books, Backpack, Readings, Pak Book Corporation.
Islamabad: Saeed Book Bank, Mr Books
Rawalpindi: United Books
Hyderabad: Master Bookshop
EVENT ARCHIVE (TEACHER TRAINING WORKSHOPS)
Photos from Shaping Maths Training Workshops by Dr Norhuda Musa in Karachi (19 Oct 2019) and Quetta (21 Oct 2019). Get ready for the October 23 workshop in Lahore
CONTACT US
HEAD OFFICE: Plot no. B-103, Sector 6/F, Mehran Town, Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi, Pakistan.
Telephone: 02138891480
LAHORE: 38-Urdu Bazar, 1st Floor, Lahore
PUBLISHER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR Ameena Saiyid (OBE, Sitara e Imtiaz, Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres)
ameena.saiyid@lightstonepublishers.com
DIRECTOR:
Nadia Ghani: nadia.ghani@lightstonepublishers.com; 03009225225
EDITORS
Chief Editor: Batul Ali. batulali@gmail.com
Editor: Rukhsana Ahsan
Editor: Aafia Aamir
Editor: Noor Jatoi
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND DISTRIBUTION
KARACHI
Senior Manager: Mazhar Hussain: 03009298312
Manager: Aamir Ali: aamirlightstone@gmail.com: +92 335 2207423
LAHORE
Junior Manager: Muhammad Zubair: mzubair153@gmail.com: +92324-2363780
SALES
KARACHI
Senior Manager: Abdul Hameed: 0300 9214052
Senior Manager: Imran Ali: 0333 2193061
Senior Manager: Syed Jawaid Alam: +92 334 5511779
Manager: Faisal Hassan: faisal.hassan@lightstonepublishers.com: 0315 2290764
Manager: Arif Maqbool: +92 331 8049869 and +92 332 3799513
LAHORE
Manager: Tahir Alam Mian: tahir23m@gmail.com: +92300-4808661
GILGIT BALTISTAN
Sales Executive: Safida Numa: 0313 7965628, 0343 2384571: safida_rose@yahoo.com (Gilgit Baltistan)