In June of 2024, Ethiopia Reads was asked to partner with iCog (formerly known as iCog-ACC), a well-known Ethiopian tech company led by Ms. Bethlehem Dessie, to engage in an interactive book project funded by Curious Learning. Curious Learning is a US-based NGO that develops award-winning, rigorously tested, free mobile apps that allow anyone to learn to read anywhere in the world. Its content is available in over 45 languages but did not include Ethiopian languages until this partnership.

iCog approached ER hoping to find Ethiopian children’s book creators who could write and animate interesting content-rich books for children ages 2-8. The books were to be written in a familiar context, emphasizing the connection between animation and text. The content of the interactive books was intended to provide a language-learning experience for young readers across Ethiopia. Because ER has offered children’s book writing courses, we were a perfect fit! Led by ER Board Member Elizabeth Taylor, dedicated writers in the advanced writing program were asked to submit drafts following specific guidelines. Their drafts were submitted, and five stories were chosen by the iCog team. Then two Ethiopian animators and three Ethiopian translators began their work. A month and a half from the start, the ER team had written, translated, and animated all five stories! iCog digitized the stories to become interactive magic.

The official launch of this wonderful project will take place at our 5th Annual Children’s Reading Summit in Addis Ababa on 2-3 April 2025. We are very proud of this project as it has the potential to reach millions of children in Ethiopia!

We are grateful to all the authors, animators, translators, and everyone at iCog and Curious Learning, and especially Elizabeth Taylor for leading this incredible project.

Android Play Store link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.curiouslearning.container

Web-based links to the interactive books and interactive games are below.

Amharic Content
FTM: https://feedthemonster.curiouscontent.org/?cr_lang=amharicInteractive Book “Come

Come”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=ComeComeAmharic
Interactive Book “Guess What I Am?”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=GuessWhatIAmAmharic
Interactive Book “I Am Flying”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=IAmFlyingAmharic
Interactive Book “I Love”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=ILoveAmharic
Interactive Book “The Umbrellas”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=TheUmbrellasAmharic

Oromo Content
FTM: https://feedthemonster.curiouscontent.org/?cr_lang=oromo
Interactive Book “Come Come”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=ComeComeOromo
Interactive Book “Guess What I Am?”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=GuessWhatIAmOromo
Interactive Book “I Am Flying”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=IAmFlyingOromo
Interactive Book “I Love”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=ILoveOromo
Interactive Book “The Umbrellas”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=TheUmbrellasOromo

Somali Content
FTM: https://feedthemonster.curiouscontent.org/?cr_lang=somali
Interactive Book “Come Come”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=ComeComeSomali
Interactive Book “Guess What I Am?”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=GuessWhatIAmSomali
Interactive Book “I Am Flying”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=IAmFlyingSomali
Interactive Book “I Love”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=ILoveSomali
Interactive Book “The Umbrellas”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=TheUmbrellasSomali

Tigrigna Content
FTM: https://feedthemonster.curiouscontent.org/?cr_lang=tigragna
Interactive Book “Come Come”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=ComeComeTigirigna
Interactive Book “Guess What I Am?”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=GuessWhatIAmTigirigna
Interactive Book “I Am Flying”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=IAmFlyingTigirigna
Interactive Book “I Love”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=ILoveTigirigna
Interactive Book “The Umbrellas”: https://curiousreader.curiouscontent.org/?book=TheUmbrellasTigirigna

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