Welcome to Litsy!

A strange story of a boy growing up in late 1970s Somalia, and after being passed from his adopted mother to his wealthier aunt and uncle, must choose between the university and fighting in the insurgency against Ethiopia. His mother is originally from Ethiopia, making for some interesting dynamics where the person he is closest to is identified as 'the enemy'. Weirder still is how the close quarters of their housing affects their relationship 👇

Great story to teach children about the power of their inner conscious

“There is a voice inside of you that whispers all day long, I feel that this is right for me, I know that this is wrong.”

This poem is about a narrator who listens to the voice inside their head and decides to follow it. This poem teaches the great lesson that kids should listen to their inner voice and trust their instincts

Originally written in the 1950s, these memoirs written by a 25-year-old author about his growing up in Guinea reveals the daily life, customs and traditions of his time.
It's a short read that will open a window to witness life there and then through the eyes of the author. If you pick this book, keep in mind that it's main focus is daily life, so it may not interest everyone.

"Because everyone talks about how kind you are, and the praise everything you do"

The illustrations in this book are super cool I think you could even have students make predictions about the pictures/observations.

This book is a great book to read to students. It also shows different cultures that students may not be familiar with. I think it shows a good lesson for how to treat others with kindness and show empathy.

September is the best time of the year: all sorts of delicious fruit are in season, including figs, coffee‘s best pairing 😋
And I found an anthology of early 20th-century Malagasy poet Rabearivelo at the library 🥳

3/5
Written in 1956, it's a novel about the life of a houseboy under colonialism.
From the first pages we learn the tragic end of the houseboy, then we get to read his diary: how he came to be a houseboy, his daily life, etc.
Segregation, hypocrisy, racism, black/white relationships are the main themes.
It's a level B1 read in French, some words/phrases may be difficult for a non-native.