Walls: An Ethiopian early reader about the importance and beauty of walls – in English and Amharic

The humble wall gets a closer look in this sweet dual-language children’s book about the utility and importance of walls in daily Ethiopian life. Walls protect and separate, contain and defend. From ornate to plain, walls come in many different designs and provide many vital functions in our towns and homes. In Ethiopia, many walls are also historical treasures with cultural importance. The city of Harar features ancient walls that are painted for important holidays like Ramadan, and walls over 600 years old still surround the city. A team of student illustrators bring the walls of Ethiopia to life in vibrant watercolors, and text in both English and Amharic supports emerging bilingual readers. Ready Set Go Books, an Open Hearts Big Dreams Project, is focused on increasing the literacy rate in Ethiopia through giving readers books with stories in their heart languages, full of colorful illustrations with Ethiopian settings and details. Profits from books sales will be used to create, print, and distribute more Ready Set Go Books to kids in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country. Ethiopia’s population is 44% children, ages 0-14 (43 million out of 97 million total). Only 5.5% of children attend pre-school or kindergarten, and the adult literacy rate is 49%. Our books are based on wise Ethiopian sayings that often rhyme in Amharic. If an adult says the first half, many children can chant the second half. Sometimes the meaning of these sayings is clear. Sometimes it has to be puzzled out and argued over. But sayings and idioms and proverbs help people express truths and beliefs in unusual ways. Open Hearts Big Dreams Fund (OHBD) is a 501(3)(c) not for profit organization that believes the chance to dream big dreams should not depend on where in the world you are born. Our focus is to support nonprofit organizations and their programs that provide literacy, K-12 education, and leadership as well as that support the parents and communities where the kids live, in Ethiopia.