Customer Reviews

Ethiopian Voices: Tsion's Life

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Wonderful adult/children's picture book on a day in the life of a real-life Ethiopian girl. Everything about this book is valuable in teaching ourselves about an unfamiliar culture. For those adopting, what a great resource for the other children in the family to read beforehand to get ready for a new sibling. I especially think that if you are adopting an older child, they will appreciate having this depiction of their home and backround as a keepsake, and it inspires great dialogue! Beautifully done!

My husband immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia 14 years ago. I purchased this book last year to help our 5-year old son understand what life is like where Daddy comes from. My husband pointed out a few discrepencies between his experiences and the facts in the book, but over all, he says this book is 98% accurate in it depiction of life in Ethiopia. In fact, it made him homesick. I can't think of a better compliment for the author.

In case you are wondering, he felt the statistics on religon were misleading.

The images, and simplistic text brought our son a glipse into Daddy's other life and brought our family closer together as a result. As a former teacher I can say this book would be a wonderful addition to a school or classroom library.

I love sharing this book with my children. They love the pictures, the simple descriptions of real life in Ethiopia, and the simple Amharic words that we can practice saying together. As adults, our images of Ethiopia are often dominated by poverty and disease, but Tsion's Life shows that there is so much more to this beautiful country where hospitality, respect for elders, and family life are so prized. I strongly recommend this book for children of all ages, and anyone interested in this refreshing look at Ethiopian life. It allows my kids and I to talk about how Tsion's life is just like theirs (living with parents, going to school, playing with friends), and how it is very different (storing water for days at a time, small living quarters, different religious traditions). In this book we see family life, food,and school, as well as values like respect for elders, generosity, and hospitality. I strongly recommend this book for parents, teachers, and anyone interested in a guided tour of this beautiful and often misunderstood part of the world. Thank you Stacy and Erlend for bringing this to all of us!

We've had this book for about a year and a half now and still really enjoy reading it and looking at the big, bold, beautiful pictures of Tsion, her family and things in her daily life. I have also used this book in the classroom during our international days to show how alike and different we are from kids around the world.
I hope that the authors and photographer will make this the first in a series and document other areas of Ethiopia beside Addis. I would love to see a similar book about a child in Sidama, where two of my children are from.

Not what I expected. Book arrived LONG after Christmas (was intended to be a gift), yet payment was accepted in plenty of time to ship BEFORE the Holiday. My daughter (she was born in Ethiopia) and I were disappointed in the book - the content and the writing style.