Guest Post by Eleni Athanasopoulou
It was late summer 2021 when I watched a video of a young girl (Leyla) reading aloud from a bilingual book about Ethiopia. An idea immediately sparked in my mind: what if we created a paired Ethio-Greek book from the #ReadySetGo book series?
The idea was warmly welcomed by Ellenore, who promptly sent several copies from the U.S. to Greece. Andromeda was destined to inaugurate the Pelargos – Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD) book series: a princess from Ethiopia, according to Greek mythology, would become the first Ethiopian-Greek children’s book—created for Ethiopian-Greek children and families.
My daughter—adopted from Ethiopia—was 5 years old at the time and was deeply engaged by the Ethiopian princess related to Greece. Also, an Ethiopian friend of hers had proudly said to her mother back then, looking at the translator’s information in the back matter, “Oh, I know this woman! She is the mother of my friend!”
Since then, more than 900 books of eight Amharic–Greek titles have been produced and distributed to families across Greece. My family’s favorite is “The Cheetahs,” making my daughter undoubtedly proud to share genes with the Dibaba sisters! My sense of contentment and pride in this voluntary activity have never ceased and rather sparkle each time I receive messages and information about its impact. Jember traveled back and forth to school for days, making our little friend feel like a superhero himself. Andromeda became a gift for relatives, teachers, and school libraries in our families, after much bedtime reading. What is more, such gifts have become stories of pride for our biracial families, coming from friends to their classmates.
I cannot avoid recollecting our event in March 2023. I was preparing for months with the team to bring together—and around our books—a broader community of people connected to both countries and cultures
Hosted in the welcoming space of an NGO culturally rooted in Africa, we enjoyed the bilingual read-aloud session of The 13 Months of Sunshine, together with our precious guest, Ellenore. Months later, I received a call: “We need your support at the National Library of Greece. Our project supports the integration of Black literature into our children’s book section” The photo below showcases our books at the Library since then).
Reflecting on the moments when I first held each new book edition in my hands, when I met Mrs. Ellenore Angelidis in person (photos below), and saw the pride in her late sister-in-law’s eyes, Evangelia Angelidis, as she witnessed impact traveling across borders, from America to Greece— I firmly believe that our books do more than represent our interracial families. They celebrate the nature and culture of Ethiopia, standing in quiet defiance of dominant media narratives and the Western gaze.
Eleni Athanasopoulou; Founding member of the Pelargos Association of Greek Adoptive and Foster Families; Founding member of the Ethiopian-Greek bilingual books Initiative