Additional information
by Durga Yael Bernhard (Illustrator), Amlaku B. Eshetie (Translator), Ready Set Go Books (Contribution by)
From the time he wakes up until the time he goes to sleep, Yaya is constantly on the move. Everyone knows Yaya, and everyone calls out to him as he runs from place to place. Follow this energetic boy through a typical day in a West African village as he gathers firewood, picks mangos, fashions a toy from a tire, chases a monkey, and joins a drum and dance celebration. Colorful illustrations follow Yaya as he weaves through the community helping his family, following his curiosity, stopping for a bite and then running off to chase whatever has caught his interest. Side by side translations in Amharic and English support midlevel bilingual readers, and a detailed bilingual glossary supports vocabulary development. Durga Yael Bernhard is the author/illustrator of numerous award-winning picture books, including Trouble (a Ready Set Go book), While You Are Sleeping: A Lift-the-Flap Book of Time Around the World, A Ride On Mother's Back, and five other multicultural titles that invite young readers to discover diverse people and cultures. Ready Set Go Books, an Open Hearts Big Dreams Project, are dual language books designed to engage young readers in Ethiopia and beyond. Open Hearts Big Dreams is dedicated to increasing opportunities for K-12 kids in Ethiopia and their communities through literacy, technology and art projects. https: // openheartsbigdreams.org/book-project/. 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 book sales are 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. Since late 2017, OHBD has published over 100 unique #ReadySetGo dual language titles in three Ethiopian languages plus English and has plans to publish another 100 titles and add more languages in the coming years. New titles and/or languages are added monthly; follow our author page to get new release announcements. 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 mission is to inspire and enable youth in Ethiopia through READY SET GO books, STEM and Innovation Projects in collaboration with individuals and organizations providing literacy, education, and leadership opportunities.
