Ethiopian Culture Camp

I had the pleasure of participating in a recent Ethiopian Culture Camp at Franklin Pierce College. The Camp is a time for children adopted from Ethiopia and their families to spend time together as a community. The kids were obviously ecstatic to be together. It is amazing to see these families. One man I met was 17 and just adopted 9 months or so ago. As I was leaving the event, the families were meeting to take a group picture. They were all dressed in traditional Ethiopian garb, scarves and long flowing skirts. This is a completely family-run event.

The most popular title was African Animals ABC. As with many Barefoot Books, there are great end notes that describe the illustrated animals.

A portion of the sales I made will go towards a donation for the Culture Camp. If you’d like your purchase to benefit the camp, Please enter event code EV28 at checkout

Life in Africa

Mama Panya’s Pancakes

Set in Kenya, Mama Panya’s Pancakes is the story of Adika and his mom and their trip to the market for dinner provisions. Adika is a friendly young boy and like my son invites all of his friends home for dinner. Everyone says yes and Mama Panya is concerned about having enough food to serve. She introduces a concept that we’ve often used in my family called “family hold back” (fhb), serve your guests first and eat what is left. The result is a wonderful tale about community and sharing what you have with others. The book also includes information about life in an African village, greetings in Kiswahili, animals and plants found in Africa, a map of the region and the recipe for Mama Panya’s pancakes. This is a great addition to a lesson plan about sharing, life in Africa or cooking.

Masai Man

This award-winning book tells a solemn but uplifting tale about our connection to animals in captivity. The Masai Man helps the animal realize life in the wild. The illustrations are mesmerizing with close-ups of the man’s intense face and visions of animal life.

We All Went on Safari, A Counting Journey through Tanzania

One of Barefoot’s most popular books. We all Went of Safari, follows a group of Masai children through the grasslands of Tanzania. It’s a counting book with different animals discovered on every page and numbers in English and Swahili. Proceeds of the book go to African Wildlife Foundation, to aid their wildlife conservation and community building efforts in Tanzania. This title is also available is Spanish. Author Laurie Krebs helps children discover many different cultures through her writing. She is also the author of Off We go To Mexico, We’re Sailing to Galapagos and the new title, We’re Sailing Down the Nile.

Catch that Goat! A Market Day in Nigeria

Written by Polly Alakija, a resident of Nigeria, Catch That Goat!, follows Ayoka through the busy market to find her goat. The goat enjoys the market and takes items along the way including boli, roasted plantain, (yum). The illustrations are quite striking in this book. As with other Barefoot Books, at the end of the book, there is a description of Yoruban life and Market day and greetings in Yoruba.

To learn more about these titles, please visit:

www.discoverbarefootbooks.com