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We love books at our house. They are everywhere in fact. Some may call it clutter, but I like the books everywhere. It means the kids are using them!
Two new books I want to share are Fire on the Mountain by Jane Kurtz and Silly Mammo: An Ethiopian Tale by Kily Mammo.
Fire on the Mountain is one of the first books we checked out from the library after deciding to adopt from Ethiopia. I finally broke down and bought it last weekend at the culture camp I have been going on and on about! This book is written by Jane Kurtz. For those of you new to Ethiopian adoption, Jane Kurtz has many books out that are Ethiopian related. She grew up in Ethiopia and helps with improving literacy in Ethiopia.
The book is based on an old Ethiopian tale about a young boy and his sister is humble, sweet and teaches kids a lesson in honestly and fairness. The book is full of traditional Ethiopian names and uses words like injera, wat and mesab to help our families remember some of the basics in the Ethiopian culture. E.B. Lewis’ illustrations are so beautiful that I could frame them and put them on my wall! His browns and greens are just the right shade to capture our imagination without ignoring the story. A great book for every child, but a must for an Ethiopian family!
The second book, Silly Mammo is one that I have been wanting to buy for a while as well. A tale of a silly man and how he makes a lady laugh is fun and and is loaded with Amharic words as it is written in both English and Amharic. Very cool indeed! The glossary in the back is very helpful, but the feature I treasure most is at the very beginning of the book it teaches of traditional Ethiopian storytelling.
The storyteller starts by saying, “Teret!Teret!”
(which means: “A story! A story!”)The children respond with, “Ye lam beret!” ( “A cow’s pen” literally but is said to mean that they want to hear as many stories as could fill a cow’s pen.) or “Yemeseret” meaning stories deep in tradition and culture.
I plan on using these phrases when I talk to children’s groups about Ethiopia. Just another fun way to educate and keep Ethiopia in our lives!
Photo Credit: Mandy W 2009
[...] I think I may send popcorn in traditional Ethiopian baskets and a book for the classroom library. Fire on the Mountain, a book I reviewed last month, is top on the list of books to [...]