Ready Set Go Books

Good Morning, Birds Ready Set Go Books

Each morning, the birds of Ethiopia greet the day in their own way. From Cliff Chats to Swallows, the beautiful and diverse species of East African birds fill the morning air with greetings to the rivers, streams and tabletop mountains that surround them. But how will the poor nocturnal Blue-Winged Goose get any sleep with all the noise? Beautiful watercolor portraits by artist Pamela Kruschke show exotic birds like the Banded Barbet, the Wattled Ibis and the Black-Winged Lovebird in stunning detail. Side by side bilingual text supports emerging readers in developing 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 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.