Surprise on Lake Tana

Inspired by a true story, this charming tale follows two friends on a trip to visit the ancient island churches of Lake Tana in Ethiopia. But what they expected to be a smooth ride across the large lake in their little boat turns into an adventure when they are stranded in the water with the hippos! Written by mother-daughter team Ellenore and Leyla Angelidis, whose love of Ethiopia and passion for books inspired them to found Open Hearts, Big Dreams, a nonprofit devoted to increasing literacy in Ethiopian indigenous languages. Side by side text in Amharic and English supports bilingual readers, and charming illustrations by Ethiopian artist Eyayu Genet bring the beautiful landscapes of Lake Tana to life. 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 books sales will be 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. 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 focus is to support nonprofit organizations and their programs that provide literacy, K-12 education, and leadership as well as that support the parents and communities where the kids live, in Ethiopia.