Houses: The Dwellings of Ethiopia in Tigrinya and English

Some have windows, some don't. Some are round with thatched roofs, some have corners and used to be lived in by kings! Some hide behind huge trees, others behind ornate gates or ancient walls. Colorful or plain, deep in a city or far out in the country, the houses of Ethiopia come in many shapes and colors....but the best ones are full of love. Side by side text in indigenous Ethiopian languages like Amharic, Tigrinya and Afaan Oromo (plus English) help emerging readers build vocabulary and develop fluency. Part of our Ready, Set, Go! series of bilingual early 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.