WSSNews | Volume 39 No. 41

WESTSIDESTORY NEWSPAPER

Young Black Author's "Beautiful Dreams" A Reality as Books Earn International Awards

NATIONAL- Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD) Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD) started because a little girl named Leyla Ange- lidis dreamed of a world where kids from her birth country of Ethiopia could get access to lots of beautiful books, just like she had living in the United States.

Recently, one of the books that now-teenage Leyla Angelidis coauthored with her mother, Ellenore Angelidis-Beautiful Dreams, il- lustrated by Nahosenay Negussie-has been nominated for inclusion on the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) 2026 Honour List of outstanding books for young people globally.

Beautiful Dreams, which was nominated for "Best Illustration," is part of the OHBD Fine Art series, featuring fine artists from Ethio- pia and other parts of the world. The book's message is that little girls can dream about becoming anything they want to be a dream that Leyla Angelidis holds for children every- where.

As Leyla Angelidis says, "I am thrilled that more kids in Ethiopia are getting to enjoy qual- ity books with gorgeous art like Nahosenay's and more kids around the world are getting to learn about Ethiopia."

As IBBY's website relates, "Important consid- erations in selecting the Honour List titles are that the books are representative of the best in children's literature from the country and that the books are suitable for publication through- out the world. The selection provides insight into the diverse cultural, political and social settings in which children live and grow." The books will be circulated at international exhibitions and housed in several major cities. This is only the second time that Ethiopia has been included in this list, only the second time four of the five official Ethiopian languages, and the first time the fifth, Afar Af, are represented. IBBY Ethiopia also nominated ten other titles to the IBBY's 2026 Honour List, all available in bilingual additions that feature official Ethi- opian languages, including: Watch, Listen, and Learn (Amharic) Hands (Tigrinya)

White-Winged Flufftails (Afaan Oromo) The Language of Dance (Somali) The Great Rift Valley Lakes (Afar Af) Little Red Cape (Amharic) When Was I Born? (Tigrinya) When I was a Child in Ethiopia (Afaan Oro- mo)

The Little Snail (Somali)

The Happiest Herder in the Land (Afar Af)

Additionally in 2025, two OHBD/Ready Set Go books received honors at the 30th Interna- tional Gourmand Awards in Portugal (for "Best of the Year 2024"). The True Story of Teff was listed as First in "Food Books for Children/Af- rica” and Fourth in "Bread Books.” The Art of Cooking was First in "Fund Raising," Second in both "Illustrations/Books" and "Bilingual with English,” and Fourth in "African Books." Founded in 1995, the Gourmand Awards are selected each year from over 100,000 publica- tions from 230 countries and regions around the world. The awards have been compared to the Oscars for film.

OHBD Founder and Executive Director Ell- enore Angelidis notes, "We are thrilled to have more writers, illustrators, translators, and a new publisher represented among these hon- ored titles. We work to represent a range of stories, art styles, and fiction and nonfiction books. We also include themes of conserva- tion, peace, and inclusion."

IBBY Ethiopia representative Yoseph Ayelew shares, “I can't stress enough how motivating these awards are for the reading promoters within Ethiopia, who have limited opportunity to share with and learn from the global com- munity. We will hold another award ceremony in Ethiopia in February 2026 to honor a broad- er segment of those involved in creating qual- ity books as IBBY Ethiopia continues to grow their impact and reach, one step at a time."

OHBD is a Seattle-based, not-for-profit orga- nization that is dedicated to increasing literacy, inclusion, innovation readiness, and leadership skills in Ethiopia and beyond. Ethiopia is Af- rica's second-most populous country, but tens of millions of people there are without literacy skills, and there is a lack of sufficient quality, culturally relevant children's books in the lo- cal languages. The organization sponsored the launch of IBBY Ethiopia as a new National Section of IBBY, joining in July 2023.

IBBY Ethiopia, the Ethiopian National Sec- tion, is focused on increasing access to quality books and creating a love of reading in Ethio- pia. IBBY Ethiopia is also promoting a wide range of stories, cultures and languages, 70-90 unique ones estimated, from across this vast nation.

The full selection of OHBD titles can be found at https://ohbd-rsgbooks.com/