PagineMaalintii aan ka tagay guriga een magalada aaday
A free picture book in Somali by Lesley Koyi, Ursula Nafula
Maalintii aan ka tagay guriga een magalada aaday is a picture book in Somali for ages 5–11 by Lesley Koyi, Ursula Nafula that you can read free online in Pagine — no download, no cost.
📖 Read it free →- Language
- Somali
- Written by
- Lesley Koyi, Ursula Nafula
- Illustrated by
- Brian Wambi
- Translated by
- Abdi Muse
- Reading level
- ages 5–11 · kindergarten to 2nd grade, 3rd to 5th grade · Level 3 · First paragraphs
- From
- Kenya
- Source
- Global Storybooks
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
- Price
- Free — read online, nothing to download
About this book
Maalintii aan ka tagay guriga een magalada aaday is a short illustrated picture book in Somali by Lesley Koyi, Ursula Nafula, illustrated by Brian Wambi and translated by Abdi Muse. It is written for ages 5–11 (Grades 2–3) and is graded as Level 3 · First paragraphs, so it works as a read-aloud for little ones and as practice for children learning to read in Somali. The book comes from Global Storybooks and is shared under an open CC BY 4.0 licence, which is why it is free to read. The same story is available in 19 other languages — handy for bilingual families and classrooms (see below).
How it begins
Boosteejada yar ee tuuladeyna waxa ay aheyd mid mashquulsan dadka awgeed iyo bases la rar dhaafiyay. Dhulka xitaa waxaa yaalay wax badan oo in la raro aheyd. Kirishbooyada ayaa ku dhawaaqayay magacyada meelaha ay basaskooda u socdaan. “Magaalada, Magaalada, Waxuu…Opening lines quoted from the openly licensed book (CC BY 4.0).
This story in other languages
Reading the same story in two languages helps bilingual children connect words they already know. “Maalintii aan ka tagay guriga een magalada aaday” is also available in:
- Afrikaans · Die dag toe ek van my huis weggegaan het stad toe
- Bemba · Ubushiku nafumine pa ŋanda ukuya ku kalaale
- English · Day I left home for the city
- English · The day I left home for the city
- Jamaican Creole · Di Die Mi Lef Mi Yaad Fi Go Toun
- Kaonde · Juuba Jonafumine Kumuzhi Kuya Kutaunyi
- Khoekhoegowab · ǁGâusa xu ta ge kaiǃās ǁga ǃgû tsēs
- Kiswahili · Siku niliyoondoka nyumbani kuelekea mjini
- Lukhonzo · Ekiro Nalw’eka ingaghenda omw’akibugha
- Lunda · Ifuku inafumini kumukala nakuya kumbaka
- Luvale · Likumbi ngwafumine hembo nakuya kumbaka
- Mauritian Creole · Zour mo’nn kit lakaz pou lavil
- Nyanja · Tsiku lamene ndinanyamukila panyumba kuyenda kumzinda
- Oshikwanyama · Efiku nda fiya po eumbo komukunda ndi ye koshilando
- Oshindonga · Esiku nda thiga po egumbo ndi ye koshilando
- Otjiherero · Eyuva ndu mba za ponganda okuyenda kotjihuro
- Spanish · El día que dejé mi casa para irme a la ciudad
- Tonga · Buzuba Mbwindakaunka Kudolopo
- Tswana · Letsatsi je ke duleng mo gae ka ya toropong
Reading together in Somali
- Read it aloud first, pointing at the pictures; then let your child “read” the pictures back to you.
- Ask open questions: what happened, how did the character feel, what would you do?
- Growing up with two languages? Talk about the story in whichever language feels easiest — the understanding carries over.
More free books in Somali
Waxa ay Vusi walaashiis tiri
Xayawaan tirin
Labo
Waa maxay sababta aysan jeerta ulahayn timo
Andiswa xidig kubadda cagta
Digaagad iyo Galayr
Fasaxyadii lala joogay ayeeyo
Yaxaaskii baahnaa
See all 40 free Somali books by reading level → · Books in 200+ languages · 👩🏫 Assign this book to a class
Frequently asked questions
Is “Maalintii aan ka tagay guriga een magalada aaday” free to read?
Yes. “Maalintii aan ka tagay guriga een magalada aaday” is free to read online in Pagine on any phone, tablet or computer — no payment and nothing to download. It is openly licensed (CC BY 4.0).
What language is “Maalintii aan ka tagay guriga een magalada aaday” in?
It is written in Somali. Pagine has 40 free children’s books in Somali.
What age is “Maalintii aan ka tagay guriga een magalada aaday” for?
It is best for ages 5–11 (Level 3 · First paragraphs). Younger children can enjoy it read aloud.
Is “Maalintii aan ka tagay guriga een magalada aaday” available in other languages?
Yes — the same story is in English, English, Kiswahili, Afrikaans, Tswana, Lukhonzo and more.
Who wrote “Maalintii aan ka tagay guriga een magalada aaday”?
“Maalintii aan ka tagay guriga een magalada aaday” was written by Lesley Koyi, Ursula Nafula and illustrated by Brian Wambi; the Somali translation is by Abdi Muse.
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Get the free app →Credits: Maalintii aan ka tagay guriga een magalada aaday — Written by Lesley Koyi, Ursula Nafula; Illustrated by Brian Wambi; Translated by Abdi Muse; Read by Ibrahim Ahmed. Somali, Level 3. From Global Storybooks (global-asp.github.io/storybooks-kenya), originally from the African Storybook (https://africanstorybook.org/reader.php?id=15029). CC BY 4.0. · Page updated October 2026