Ethiopia

Materials from Ethiopia

Cry of the Giraffe

One girl’s harrowing trek from exile and slavery to hope in a new land — all based on a true story. In the early 1980s, thousands of Ethiopian Jews fled the civil unrest, famine and religious persecution of their native land in the hopes of being reunited in Jerusalem, their spiritual homeland, with its promises of a better life. Wuditu and her family risk their lives to make this journey, which leads them to a refugee camp in Sudan, where they are separated. Terrified, 15-year-old Wuditu makes her way back to Ethiopia alone. “Don’t give up, Wuditu! Be strong!” The words of her little sister come to Wuditu in a dream and give her the courage to keep going. Wuditu must find someone to give her food and shelter or she will surely die. Finally Wuditu is offered a solution: working as a servant. However, she quickly realizes that she has become a slave. With nowhere else to go, she stays — until the villagers discover that she is a falasha, a hated Jew. Only her dream of one day being reunited with her family gives her strength — until the arrival of a stranger heralds hope and a new life in Israel. With her graceful long neck, Wuditu is affectionately called “the giraffe.” And like the giraffe who has no voice, she must suffer in silence. Based on real events, Wuditu’s story mirrors the experiences of thousands of Ethiopian Jews.

The Storyteller’s Beads

During the political strife and famine of the 1980s, two Ethiopian girls, one Christian and the other Jewish and blind, struggle to overcome many difficulties, including their prejudices about each other, as they make the dangerous journey out of Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Voices: Tsion’s Life

Ethiopian Voices: Tsion’s Life Meet Tsion, an eleven year old Ethiopian girl as she talks about her life and her country. Stunning photographs bring the reader to Tsion s house, school, church, dinner table and more. Informative cultural facts are included. Advance Praise: The striking photographs and carefully selected domestic scenes in Tsion s Life beautifully capture the day-to-day of one Addis Ababa family. This charming book is perfect for parents and educators seeking to give children an engaging and accurate glimpse into life in Ethiopia. Rebecca Haile, Held At a Distance: My Rediscovery of Ethiopia

Escape Under the Forever Sky

Loosely based on real-life events this suspenseful story is also funny and touching. Lucy’s mother is the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia so Lucy’s life must be one big adventure right? Wrong. Lucy’s worrywart mother keeps her locked up inside the ambassador’s residence. All Lucy can do is read about the exciting world that lies beyond the compound walls and imagine what it would be like to be a part of it. That is until one day Lucy decides she has had enough and she and a friend sneak off for some fun. But to their horror Lucy gets kidnapped! With only herself to rely upon, Lucy must use her knowledge of African animals, inventiveness, will, and courage to escape and in the process embarks on an adventure beyond her wildest imagination.

Faraway Home

As her father prepares for a trip back to his childhood home in Ethiopia, Desta begins to worry. Where does her father truly belong–in the village of his youth or here in America with her? What was growing up in Ethiopia like? And will her father’s love for his family be enough to bridge these two worlds and bring him back to her?

The Lion Hunter (The Mark Of Solomon)

It is the sixth century in Aksum, Africa. Young Telemakos—King Arthur’s half-Ethiopian grandson—is still recovering from his ordeal as a government spy in the far desert, trying to learn who was breaking the Emperor’s plague quarantine. Before he is fully himself again, tragedy and menace strike, and he finds himself sent, with his baby sister, Athena, to live with Abreha, the ruler of Himyar—a longtime enemy of the Aksumites, now perhaps a friend. His aunt Goewin, Arthur’s daughter, warns him that Abreha is a man to be wary of, someone to watch carefully. Telemakos promises he will be mindful—but he does not realize that Goewin’s warnings are not enough to protect him. The Sunbird was the first book about Telemakos. The Lion Hunter continues his story, to be quickly followed by The Empty Kingdom—a two-book sequence called The Mark of Solomon.