ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia—At 19, Yohannes Gebregeorgis borrowed a novel entitled Love Kitten that changed his life forever. Born in rural Ethiopia, his father was an illiterate cattle merchant who insisted that his son     1     (have) an education. So Gebregeorgis had seen a few books in school. But     2     (have) a book of his own sparked a lifelong commitment.

Today, Gebregeorgis is establishing libraries and literacy programs to connect Ethiopian children with books. “Most Ethiopian children only have access to textbooks in the classroom,” says Gebregeorgis. “Books     3     children read outside of school are the spices of education.”

Until he became a children’s librarian, he didn’t realize     4     the children of his native home were missing. Arriving in the United States in 1981, Gebregeorgis ultimately put himself through college,     5     (obtain) a graduate degree in library science. He took a position at the San Francisco

Children’s Library in 1985. There, he met The Little Engine That Could, Captain Ahab, and Peter Pan. He realized the impact children’s books could make     6     a child’s sense of wonder and vision. “Children could imagine everything from books—connections to other cultures, to other people, to other children, and to the universe at large. Reading gives them hope. It gives them pleasure. It gives them everything that they cannot otherwise get in regular textbooks.”

But Gebregeorgis found that there were no children’s books in Amharic, the primary language of Ethiopia, and none representing the places and characters of Ethiopian lore.     7     the library granted $1,200 for the purchase of Ethiopian books, Gebregeorgis was unable to find any, so he wrote one. Silly Mamma was the first bilingual Amharic-English children’s book, and its publication led Gebregeorgis     8     (establish) the nonprofit organization Ethiopia Reads in 1988. Using proceeds from book sales, the nonprofit organization     9     (finance) his efforts to bring children’s libraries to Ethiopia.

Gebregeorgis reads storybooks to children who     10     (deny) access to television or computers and believes that literacy and education will emancipate his impoverished land. “With literate children there is no limit as to how much we can do.”

An animated short film, based on the book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, is coming to Apple TV+ on December 25. It is about a boy who     1     (lose) and afraid but gets comforting     2    (wise) from animals he meets as he looks for his home.

British illustrator(插图画家) and artist Charlie Mackesy, the author of the book, co-wrote and co-directed the film. He said the     3    (origin) inspiration for his book came from drawings he made and sent to friends. He put them in a book     4    more people could enjoy them, and it became     5     bestseller.

The story’s lesson, such as “Asking for help isn’t giving up. It’s refusing to give up,” didn’t come    6     Mackesy all at once. “I just kept drawing and writing and they emerged(出现),” he said. “I think we all have things deep within us if we dare to listen.” Mackesy said that at first he didn’t think the book had enough in it     7    (become) a film, but there ended up being too much. “We had to carefully select     8     we felt was important and keep the gentle pace,” he said.

There are many important messages in the film, but there are some specific ones Mackesy would like kids to take away from it. “I hope very much that it helps children feel good about themselves,     9    (love), and enough as they are,” he said. “I hope it inspires friendships and shows that the greatest things in life     10    (be) kindness and love.”