HaHu Books has compiled the following overview on the current state of children’s literature in Ethiopia.  The overview is part of HaHu Books’ ongoing attempt to

• publicise good children’s books
• promote and encourage those writing for and about Ethiopian children
• encourage debate about the problems faced by authors and publishers, both in Ethiopia and abroad.

The questions and answers provided below reflect our initial attempt to summarize the issues facing children’s literature in Ethiopia.  It draws on our five years talking with writers, publishers and readers.  We hope that it will in turn stimulate responses from writers, publishers, educators, illustrators and others directly or indirectly involved in cultivating the minds of children.

 Please feel free to respond, amend or comment on our views. Do also forward our observations to others who might have views and insights.  Send your comments to editors@hahubooks.co.uk . We will post them on this page to promote discussion and circulation of ideas.

Overview in the form of Questions and Answers

Q1. Who writes for children in Ethiopia?

 Very few people! Relative to some African countries, very few children’s books have been published in Ethiopia.  Ethiopian authors who have had books published have written as a hobby. Often the writers have been teachers, and the majority are men. However this seems to be changing. Currently up to a third of Ethiopian authors for children are women, and their number is said to be growing.

 Not only do the  writers write  the books but they also publish and distribute their own materials themselves almost exclusively in Addis Ababa, the capital.

Q2. What kind of books are published?

Historically, most books were published as part of school curriculum.  From the 1950s to the 1980s, books were directly prepared, or sponsored, by The Ministry of Education. Often such books had dual purposes. They were educational and entertaining at the same time.  They also conveyed traditional, ethical and cultural values.

Tarikena Misalie		Enqilf Leminie
A first of three volumes by Kebede Mikael. First published in 1941/2, and consisting of tales, fables and other  instructive sayings adapted or retold in prose and verse, these served as school texts for decades		The second edition of Enqilf Leminie, by Balamabaras (later Blatiengieta)  Mahteme-Selassie Wolde-Meskel, was published by the Ministry of Education 1959/60 to be used as instruction material.

Such schoolbooks are often furnished with illustrations, though they tend to be sketchy pencil drawings by unnamed amateur artists.

 Some books were published in Amharic, the principal language of education, and a few for learners of English. Virtually no children’s books were published in the Oromo language, (which is the mother tongue of a large number of Ethiopian children) or Ethiopia’s other main languages. Oromo, Somali, Tigrinya and other languages have been taught in primary schools since the early nineties, but apart from basic school primers, there are very few books.

 In the past 15 years, private businesses have flourished in cities, including private printers and now a growing number of private schools. This has encouraged a small band of independent writers to print and promote their own books. A few more titles have appeared and colored illustrations have been introduced. In addition there are some indications of significant developments in new children’s literature in the form of DVDs, audio cassettes and print-on-demand books.


Q3.  Who are the publishers?

 Most authors publish their own works. This was mainly due to lack of publishers of children’s books. In fact even books for adults are often self-published.

 Prior to 1991 (under the Dergue regime) publishing was controlled by the state. The former state publisher ‘Kuraz’ is now nominally independent. However, it has done little to promote children’s literature.

 This means that the burden of storage and distribution also rests with the authors. They have very few networks to publicize or distribute their works abroad.

Examples of books published by Kuraz, the first in 1985/6 when it was a state enterprise, the second in 1995/6 when it was owned by Mega, a private company.

Getting outside help and assistance in publishing their works would have been ideal as some writers want to see their work reaching the Diaspora and being shared by children of non-Ethiopian origin.  The writers would have liked to see their works distributed in the wider market and not being restricted within the country. Ethiopia has a wealth of unrecorded oral literature untapped yet for children’s reading materials. The country is  rich in diverse culture, traditions and historical narratives which her native authors are keen to share with all children at home and abroad.

More recently a group of writers for children published three volumes of collected stories in Amahric and English (bilingual). The first book was entitled ‘Coocooloo.’

This is the first of three books by Writers for Ethiopian Children. It was published in Addis Ababa, 2002 by ten Ethiopian and European authors whose creative modern stories and fantasies are produced in English and Amharic

The books in the series are exemplary for collaborative efforts, commendable  illustrations, and organization of bilingual publication text.The second volume, ‘Alihoy’, and third ‘Alalihoy’, by Writers for Ethiopian Children came out in 2003. (Appendix I, Box 1 has more details about these and the first volume.)


Q4. Where are books sold?

There are few bookshops in Addis Ababa, most controlled by the former state-publisher Kuraz-now known as Mega. There are also a handful of companies importing books, largely for expatriates and Ethiopians based abroad. Most of them are found in new shopping malls.

Many second-hand-book stalls are found in Addis and smaller towns.  They trade in schoolbooks and some children’s fiction. Small but similar book stores are also found in big international hotels such as the Addis Hilton and the Sheraton. Children’s materials they stock are minimal, mainly imported coloring books and the occasional newly released English storybooks by Ethiopian and European authors for children. Old Amahric educational books and translated storybooks are also sold on street markets.


Q5.  Who are the readers?

The honest answer to this is that only rich children and their parents can afford to buy books.  Relatively well-off parents, especially in cities, and above all in Addis Ababa, can buy books for their children. Everyone else basically uses books for school or second-hand books bought from stalls.  Many share books by circulating them within circles of friends.


Q6.  Why don’t most children read more?

 Ideally children of school age should be literate to be able to read books and other materials written for them and about them. In reality however, over half of the children in Ethiopia are illiterate, and some 95% are destitute, with no money for basic necessities of life, let alone to buy books. Most of the literate children also have no access to books even through services provided by school and public libraries. These conditions coupled with the low level of reading culture in the society results in an environment not conducive for children to acquire a reading habit.

 For the average Ethiopian child reading is a luxury indeed.  A great deal of child labor is expected of ordinary children, from looking after younger siblings to doing errands for the family, from herding cattle to assisting as farm hands.  Some are obliged to earn a living or supplement family income by working as domestic servants, shoeshines, peddlers, shop and garage assistants in towns and cities.  Many other sleep rough in the streets having no parents, home or guardian to take care of them. 

 Children from well-to-do families, by far the minority, don’t read much either. Like kids from prosperous societies elsewhere, these children prefer DVDs and computer games rather than traditional reading. It appears both children and society at large are caught up with information and home entertainment technology before a reading culture was well established as a popular pastime.  This applies to children of the Diaspora in many families.


Q7.  Aren’t there libraries for children?

 Public library service hardly exists in the country. Kebele (neighborhood councils) run public libraries seem to be just beginning to show up here and there in urban areas. Privileged children in Addis use foreign language libraries such as those run by the British Council and Alliance éthio-Française. These may not be open to children, but allow adults to borrow books for them through vetted membership.

 In some neighborhoods there are small private libraries where you can borrow books by the day, for ETB 0.50 or so. However, video stores are far more common and more profitable.

 A notable recent development is the establishment of a dedicated children’s library. In 2003. The Shola Children’s Library was opened in Addis Ababa by Ato Yohannes Gebregeorgis, a librarian by profession, with the support of Jane Kurtz, a well known children’s writer in America. The purpose of the library is to improve literacy and create a culture of reading in Ethiopia. Ethiopia Reads, the organization behind the library project has also been opening school libraries, and running various projects from publishing to providing training to teachers and librarians. (Further information is available on the organization’s website: http://www.ethiopiareads.org/history.htm).

 Q8.  How do children develop reading habits?

Parents and guardians play a prominent role by reading for them from early age, especially at bedtime. Parents should be role models by developing a habit of reading as a favorite pastime, and by creating conducive environment for children to do the same.  Reading and acting out stories by educators in nurseries and primary schools nurture children’s interest in books and reading.

Such encouragement by parents and educators should be supported by the availability of good quality reading materials, which can hook children to reading habits.  Support to talented children’s writers and illustrators are therefore equally important.

To overcome the obstacles of poverty and lack of resources, nurseries, schools and kebele or other community centers can be helped to form children’s library which provide reading rooms and book lending services.  The encouragement to writers and illustrators could be achieved through fund raising, public appreciation of their contributions, literary reviews and so on.

Our own observation indicates that given the opportunity children love to carry books and leaf through them to discover what is in them even if they are not literate.


Q9.  Do foreigners write for or about Ethiopian children? Are such books available?

Yes, a few foreign authors have written Ethiopian children stories. Notable among them are: Elizabeth Laird, Jane Kurtz, Frances Somers-Cocks, and now Cristina Kessler. Some  of their books are highlighted in the review pages of this website.

This is Frances Somers-Cocks second volume published in 2003. It is a historical fiction based on the story of the childhood of Abraham Hannibal, a famous general of Russia’s Peter the Great, and the grandfather of Pushkin, arguably Russia greatest poet. Brief reviews of this and its predecessor are given in Bukaya vol. 2 & 3 and on the HaHu Books website: http://www.hahubooks.co.uk/bookreview.html#a6

 Most of these books are now available in few stores in Addis Ababa. It is rare to find them in small towns and rural areas of the country. Moreover, written in English and sold at retail prices unaffordable for the average customer, their accessibility is extremely limited.


Q10. Writers for children, what efforts do they make to let children have access to their works?

Some writers take their books to school libraries, distribute them to shops and sell them to individual customers directly from private stockpiles.  Distributing to school libraries and shops may require approval of the contents of the books by the Ministry of Education.