Author Description

When a stubborn donkey refuses to cross the narrow suspension bridge above the Tis Abay (Great Smoke) waterfall on the Blue Nile near Lake Tana, Ethiopia, a frustrated older sister is inspired to try a new way to help her frightened little brother cross it, too. Based on a true experience lived and written by mother/daughter team Ellenore and Leyla Angelidis about a visit to Leyla's birth country. Illustrated by brilliant Ethiopian fine artist Eyayu Genet, who is considered "an artist of national consciousness" and operates a gallery for his stunning work in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia's alternative art corner. (https: //timelessmagazines.news/2018/04/10/eyayu-genet-an-artist-of-national-consciousness/) Side-by-side bilingual text supports fluency in English and Amharic, Tigrinya or Afaan Oromo. Open Hearts Big Dreams Ready Set Go (OHBD-RSG) Books were created to help increase 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 book sales are used to create, print, and distribute more OHBD-RSG books to kids in Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country. Ethiopia's population has a high percentage of children ages 0-14. Only a small percentage attend pre-school or kindergarten, and the adult literacy rate is around 50%. Some of 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. Other books are based on STEAM topics, cooking, colors, counting and more. Since late 2017, OHBD has published over 150 unique OHBD-RSG bilingual titles in a number of Ethiopian, African and global languages plus English and has plans to publish more titles and add