Author Description

What do the Abyssinian catbird, Harwood’s Francolin and the Liben lark have in common? They can all be spotted in the mountains or verdant valleys of Ethiopia. Stunning watercolors by Carol Rose bring the vibrant birds of East Africa to life in our look at the feathered inhabitants of Ethiopia’s countryside. Dual-language text by Elizabeth Spor Taylor features details about the habitat and diet of fabulous winged creatures like the prehistoric-looking Thick-Billed Raven or the colorful Prince Ruspoli’s Turaco. Side by side text helps emerging bilingual readers develop vocabulary and fluency. 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 four 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