Basket of Books Program by Ethiopia Reads

Basket of Books Program

As a grass-roots organization we have been overwhelmed with the numbers of people who have reached out to us asking “How can I help?”

The Basket of Books program is an initiative launched by Ethiopia Reads that allows those of us who aren’t able to plant an entire library or publish a book share the joy of reading and make a lasting impact.

You can touch the lives of children who rarely or never get to hold books.

What is the Basket of Books Program?
A simple two-step program! 1) You donate $200 to sponsor a Basket of Books. Each book will have a nameplate placed on the inside cover recognizing the basket’s sponsor: your organization, family, or perhaps a reader or supporter of the world’s children that you want to honor with a gift. 2) Ethiopia Reads will place the basket with a worthy organization that serves children in Ethiopia. (If you like, we will work with you on placing a basket with an organization you might already have a relationship with.)

Each basket of books will contain an assortment of books like those shown in the pictures above – to include Early Readers, picture books, middle grade novels and local language books.

Selam Negussie publishes "Fire on the Mountain" in Ethiopia

Selam Negussie found the book "Fire on the Mountain" in the library where she works and read it. She liked it, specially because it was an Ethiopian folk tale, though it was retold in English by an American writer, Jane Kurtz. She believed that if this story were written in Amharic, Ethiopian children would enjoy it. That was why she translated it.


"Fire on the Mountain", as Selam herself admitted, is an old folk tale. But writing and presenting it for reading has a fresh appeal to what used to be told only orally, she says. Moreover, documenting an oral story preserves its content though not in its originality.

Folk tales are passed down generations orally as fathers and mothers tell their children and grandchildren. In the process, the stories are added to or reduced from and modified in different ways. In some cases, characters and settings undergo minor changes to give them local flavor as the same story is retold in another country.

Selam has read "Fire on the Mountain" written by two other foreigners besides Jane Krutz. The stories were basically the same, but featured different styles. [The late Wolf Leslaw had written "Fire on the Mountain and Other Ethiopian Folk stories" in the 1940s.]

"If children in other countries can read our stories why not our own children in whose country the stories originated?" asked Selam. This presentation in Amharic does not only entertain children, but also helps them develop taste for reading.

"Fire on the Mountain" tells the story of Alemayehu, an opphan boy who is hired by a wealthy, arrogant country man. When the man declares that he has once spent a night on the freezing top of the mountain all by himself and says no one else can perform such feat, Alemayehu, dares to take the challenge. The man bets a sum of money and cows that Alemayehu will not make it. But Alemayehu returns from the mount alive early the following morning. How did he not freeze to death? the rich man asks. Alemayehu says he has seen fire flickering on top of a distant mountain. "So I imagined myself sitting by the fire and enjoying its warmth", he answered. "That was how I survived".

Looking at fire is as good as lighting one, the man argues, and refuses to give Alemayehu the reward he has promised. The rest of the book tells how Alemayehu's wise sister traps the rich man by the same cunning tactic in which the man will be forced to admit his fault and give the boy his just reward.

Selam had not planned to have the translation of "Fire on the Mountain" printed. There was recently a "Book Week" at the Children's Library during which all children were encouraged to read and listen to stories. Since most of the books in the library were in English, Selam had to sit in the midst of the children and translate the stories for them to Amharic orally. She had read for the children "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Hen and the Woman", and "The Ugly Duckling" and two other stories by Christian Anderson when she stumbled upon "Fire on the Mountain" by Jane Krutz.

The children enjoyed hearing the Anderson stories but even more "Fire on the Mountain" because it was about Ethiopian boys and girls with whom they could identify.

The illustrated book was printed bilingual by the permission of the English edition's publisher, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and donations from the people of Tippery, Ireland, coordinated by Piers Elrington who also did the designing.

Over 40 percent of the 5,000 copies of the book will be distributed to children in rural areas around Addis Ababa for free. It has been a week since the book was published and Selam says the free distribution has already started in Dukem and Sululta.

Girls Gotta Run - Ethiopian Non Profit - Event in Bethesda, Maryland

February 26 - April 5, 2008
Invitational Gallery
The Mansion at Strathmore
10701 Rockville Pike
North Bethesda, MD 20852
Opening Reception:
Thursday, February 28, 2008, 7 - 9 p.m.


Profits from the sale of this artwork go to buy running shoes for girls in Ethiopia. By training as athletes, these girls can delay traditional arranged marriages which can occur as early as 12 years of age.

To purchase any of the works on display
Contact Pat Ortman
(202) 244-6354 or pat@girlsgottarun.org

For more information and to see some
of the art that will be on exhibit, visit
www.girlsgottarun.org

Author Jane Kurtz to Speak in Maryland on Behalf of Ethiopia Reads

Meet children’s author Jane Kurtz!
Support Ethiopia Reads!

Come hear Jane tell her story of growing up in Ethiopia, how it influenced her writing and the development of the NGO Ethiopia Reads. Jane’s books -- Only A Pigeon, the Lion’s Tail (Amharic/English version) and Saba will be available for purchase. Dual language Amharic/English books -- The Beekeeper of Lalibela, Fafi’s Sheep and Silly Mammo will also be available.

Sunday, March 2, 2008 ~~ 1:30 – 4:00 pm
Highland Origin Cafe
8200 Fenton Street
Silver Spring, Maryland
For additional information, please contact Catie@EthiopiaReads.org

The kitchen at Highland Origin Café will be open for your convenience.

Author Jane Kurtz to Speak in Washington DC on behalf of Ethiopia Reads

Meet children’s author Jane Kurtz
and support Ethiopia Reads

Come hear Jane tell her story of growing up in Ethiopia, how it influenced her writing and the development of the NGO Ethiopia Reads. Jane’s books - Only A Pigeon, the Lion’s Tail (Amharic/English version) and Saba will be available for purchase. Dual language Amharic/English books - The Beekeeper of Lalibela, Fafi’s Sheep and Silly Mammo will also be available. The kitchen at Sidamo will be open for your convenience.

Saturday, March 1, 2008 -- 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Sidamo Coffee and Tea
417 H Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
For further information, please contact Catie Dupont.
Catie@EthiopiaReads.org or call 571-243-1411.

Fafi's Sheep - Amharic/English Children's Book, now available.

Fafi's Sheep by Netsanet Kidanemariam

Illustrated by Abeneser Mengistu.
Translated by Aster Worku.
Fafi's Sheep is the fifth bilingual English/Amharic children's book that has been published by EthiopiaReads.org.

The story starts: "Fafi had two big ears, but he didn't use them to listen to what his elders advised. "Stop misbehaving! his mother would tell him. "Learn to obey." He never listened to her. "

This book was published in Addis Ababa for the purpose of fundraising for EthiopiaReads. All proceeds from the purchase of Fafi's Sheep go to EthiopiaReads.org and its current and future projects.

To order your copy of Fafi's Sheep, click here.

The Beekeeper of Lalibela Now Available on SilverChicks

The Beekeeper of Lalibela, by Cristina Kessler

Illustrated by Abebe Kassaye. Translated from English to Amharic by Rahel Mekuria.

The Beekeeper of Lalibela is the fourth bilingual English/Amharic children's book that has been published by EthiopiaReads.org.

The story starts: "Long ago, high in the mountains of Ethiopia, where purple shadows fill the valleys and hillsides, the bees arrived in Lalibela. Some said they came to announce the birth of a new king, while others thought only of their honey -- sweet, rich, and golden. As the centuries passed and the word spread, villagers poured in from far and near to buy the sweet nectar."

This book was published in Addis Ababa for the purpose of fundraising for EthiopiaReads. All proceeds from the purchase of The Beekeeper of Lalibela go to EthiopiaReads.org and its' current and future projects.

Thank you to author, Cristina Kessler. For more information about the author and her works, please visit www.cristinakessler.com.

Click here to order your copy today.