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Perhaps it’s because she shares her name with the title character that my daughter just loves the “Emma” picture books by award-winning author Margriet Ruurs. Emma, the book version that is, is a hen with personality, persistence and pluck. Her barnyard adventures are hysterical to both young and old readers and as one reviewer says “Emma is a hapless heroine who always seems to triumph in the end – a true role model for the underdog.”

I love the Emma books too: however, my favorite book by Margriet is My Librarian is a Camel. Inspired by a newspaper article, this book describes unusual mobile libraries found in thirteen countries, from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe. Besides bookmobiles, this book shows librarians using animals (camels, horses, donkeys, elephants), bicycles, and even a wheelbarrow, to bring books to children in hard-to-reach areas. Complete with world map and text boxes with country information, this book received the International Reading Association’s Notable Book for Global Awareness recognition and has led to schools adopting mobile libraries projects around the world.

Following a similar photo-essay format, Margriet’s newest book My School in the Rain Forest: How Children Attend School Around the World is now available! Several years in the making, this book shares stories and information about many countries around the world and how children attend school. Readers get to know students — from the arid plains of southern Afghanistan to the rain forests of Guatemala — who are pursuing their dreams of a brighter future. At a school that sits on the edge of the Sahara, students are learning to speak English from a teacher who stands in front of a Webcam in North America. In another part of the world, kids aren’t waiting to ride the bus to school — they are waiting to hop in a boat that will take them to a school that floats on a river. And some kids don’t mind heights, especially those who attend a school on the slope of a mountain in the Himalayas, in one of the most remote corners of the earth.

Margriet often does school visits and will be doing slideshow presentations about her travels and the making of this book. Keep an eye on her blog and hopefully she will share some of the details with us.

Two facts about me - I love reading and donkeys! So it makes sense that one of my favorite PaperTigers posts was Marjorie’s Books At Bedtime: Silly Mammo - an Ethiopian folktale. Marjorie shared the story of Yohannes Gebregeorgis, his book Silly Mammo, his organization Ethiopia Reads and his amazing donkey-drawn library in Ethiopia. Yohannes’ donkey-drawn library has been so successful that three more officially went into service during a gala inauguaration ceremony on January 10. These libraries will bring books and learning materials to children who live in rural areas surrounding Awassa, an agricultural town in southern Ethiopia. Check out these photos of the inauguration.

In 2008 Yohannes was voted one of CNN’s Top 10 Heros of the year and had this to say:

I think the recognition that Ethiopia Reads has received is primarily for the recognition of the importance of literacy to the development of a country’s future; for its power to change individuals and society. What we’ve accomplished in the last six years is a drop in the ocean compared to the need. It’s a good beginning that needs to be kept alive and going until we cover all regions of Ethiopia.

The accomplishments of Ethiopia Reads are amazing. Over the past six years, it has established two free public libraries for young readers and 16 school libraries which, combined, have had over 100,000 visitors. Library and literacy training has been provided to about 120 teachers and assistant librarians. Ethiopia Reads has published 8 children’s books and distributed over 30,000 books at no charge to children with another 75,000 to be given over the next six months to a year. An annual Ethiopian Children’s Book Week is held in early April in Addis Ababa, and a new children’s book award – the Golden Kuraz Award - rewards literary excellence and encourages the writing and publishing of high-quality Ethiopan children’s books.