Fifty Lemons: Many Hands Make Light Work in Sidaamu Afoo and English

Follow a young Ethiopian child as they gather too many lomi (lemons) and discover the truth behind the Ethiopian parable “For one person, fifty lemons is a heavy load. For fifty people, fifty lemons are adornments.” The lomi is a lucky fruit in Ethiopian culture, and yellow dots can often be seen floating in the Nile River, each one attached to a wish and thrown from a bridge into the water. Side by side text in Sidaamu Afoo and English support emerging bilingual readers. Simple, sweet watercolor illustrations follow the Ethiopian child as they gather more lemons than they can carry and help us count how many friends will help carry the load on the fragrant journey home through the beautiful Ethiopian countryside.

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.