Tingi le dikgomo

A free picture book in Tswana by Ingrid Schechter

Tingi le dikgomo is a picture book in Tswana for ages 5–8 by Ingrid Schechter that you can read free online in Pagine — no download, no cost.

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Language

Tswana

Written by

Ingrid Schechter

Illustrated by

Ingrid Schechter

Translated by

Antonia Madi

Reading level

ages 5–8 · kindergarten to 2nd grade · Level 2 · First sentences

From

South Africa, Namibia

Source

Global Storybooks

Licence

CC BY 3.0

Price

Free — read online, nothing to download

About this book

Tingi le dikgomo is a short illustrated picture book in Tswana by Ingrid Schechter, illustrated by Ingrid Schechter and translated by Antonia Madi. It is written for ages 5–8 (Grades 1–2) and is graded as Level 2 · First sentences, so it works as a read-aloud for little ones and as practice for children learning to read in Tswana. The book comes from Global Storybooks and is shared under an open CC BY 3.0 licence, which is why it is free to read. The same story is available in 27 other languages — handy for bilingual families and classrooms (see below).

How it begins

Tingi o agile le mmemogolo wa gagwe. O ne a disa dikgomo le mmemogolo. Letsatsi lengwe masolo a tla. Ba tsaya dikgomo. Tingi le mmemogolo wa gagwe ba sia ba ya go itshuba. Ba ya go itshuba mo sekgweng go…

Opening lines quoted from the openly licensed book (CC BY 3.0).

This story in other languages

Reading the same story in two languages helps bilingual children connect words they already know. “Tingi le dikgomo” is also available in:

• Afrikaans · Tingi en die koeie
• Bemba · Tingi ne ŋombe
• English · Tingi and the cows
• Ga · Tingi kɛ tsinai lɛ
• Jamaican Creole · Tinggi an di Kou
• Kaonde · Tingi ne Bañombe
• Khoekhoegowab · Tingib tsî gomadi
• Kigogo · Tingi na ng’ombe
• Kiswahili · Tingi na ng’ombe
• Luganda · Tingi n’ente
• Lukhonzo · Tingi N’esyande
• Lunda · Tingi nawa ng’ombi
• Luvale · Tingi navangombe
• Mauritian Creole · Tingi ek bann vas
• Nigerian Pidgin · Tingi and cows
• Nyanja · Tingi ndi ng’ombe
• Oshikwanyama · Tingi neengobe
• Oshindonga · Tingi noongombe
• Otjiherero · Tingi nozongombe
• Rutooro · Tingi N’Ente
• Sesotho · Tingi le dikgomo
• Somali · Tingi iyo lo’dii
• South Ndebele · UBongani neenkomo
• Spanish · Tingi y las vacas
• Tonga · Tingi Aŋombe
• Xhosa · UTingi kunye Nenkomo
• Zulu · Utingi

Reading together in Tswana

• 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 Tswana

• Go Opela Boammaaruri: Kgang ya Miriam Makeba
• Khudu e bona ntlo ya yone
• Motlhokomedi le serapa sa gagwe
• Go bala ditshedi
• Pedi
• Bana ba kerese
• Zama o godile.
• Koko le Sebokolodi

See all 103 free Tswana books by reading level → · Books in 200+ languages · 👩‍🏫 Assign this book to a class

Frequently asked questions

Is “Tingi le dikgomo” free to read?

Yes. “Tingi le dikgomo” 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 3.0).

What language is “Tingi le dikgomo” in?

It is written in Tswana. Pagine has 103 free children’s books in Tswana.

What age is “Tingi le dikgomo” for?

It is best for ages 5–8 (Level 2 · First sentences). Younger children can enjoy it read aloud.

Is “Tingi le dikgomo” available in other languages?

Yes — the same story is in English, Nigerian Pidgin, Kiswahili, Somali, Zulu, Xhosa and more.

Who wrote “Tingi le dikgomo”?

“Tingi le dikgomo” was written by Ingrid Schechter and illustrated by Ingrid Schechter; the Tswana translation is by Antonia Madi.

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Credits: Tingi le dikgomo — Written by Ingrid Schechter; Illustrated by Ingrid Schechter; Translated by Antonia Madi. Tswana, Level 2. From Global Storybooks (southafricareads.org), originally from the African Storybook (https://africanstorybook.org/reader.php?id=7441). CC BY 3.0. · Page updated October 2026