An Egg Can Walk: The Wisdom of Patience and Chickens in Igbo and English

An anxious mama chicken tries to remain patient while hatching her newly laid egg. Find out what happens 21 days later when little by little, the egg finally begins to walk! Authors Caroline and Jane Kurtz worked with children from the Ethiopia Reads Gebeta Library in Addis Ababa to come up with ideas for a story that shows some of the truth behind this teret, a wise saying that people in Ethiopia use to teach children values and build character. Sometimes the meaning is clear. Sometimes the meaning has to be puzzled out and argued over. But the teret always helps people express truths and beliefs in an unusual way. Side by side text in indigenous Ethiopian languages like Amharic, Tigrinya or Afaan Oromo and English supports emerging bilingual readers as they develop fluency and vocabulary.

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 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.