The Busy Little Bee: How Bees Make Coffee Possible in Somali And English

PUBLISHER: Independently Published 03/28/2021

Follow a busy little Ethiopian bee as it gathers pollen from flower to flower in a delightful series of student-made paper collage illustrations. The journey ends somewhere surprising: in our morning cup of coffee. Emerging bilingual readers will learn about the importance of pollination for crops like coffee beans in Ethiopia, while side by side text supports developing vocabulary and literacy in indigenous Ethiopian languages like Amharic, Tigrinya, Somali and Afaan Oromo. Part of the Ready, Set, Go! series of books by Open Hearts Big Dreams, an organization devoted to increasing literacy in Ethiopia. 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.