The following Big Brother Mouse books are available in PDF format, free of charge, for personal use, or educational use within one school. These are standard PDF formats, and may not be compatible with some mobile devices, especially with smaller screens.
At the end, we've listed books that are also available for other literacy projects to reprint.
The Countries of ASEAN
Laos is one of ten members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Countries of ASEAN combines photographs, maps, and text, to tell about each member's history, and culture. A traditional folktale from each country adds local color, and will attract more readers. The full book is 96 pages with many illustrations. Here, we offer a chance to download the non-fiction text and pictures for several countries: Laos, Indonesia, Philippines, and Singapore.
Who is this for? These are written entirely in Lao. High school and college students are very eager to learn about ASEAN countries; they'll also provide good practice for anyone learning Lao.
More about The Countries of ASEAN from which these are taken | To download, click a country above
A Hmong Boyhood
If you visited Big Brother Mouse around 2008-2011, you might have met James, who learned English at our free morning practice, and worked here part-time, all while attending high school. James was born in a Hmong village high on a mountain. We asked him to tell about his life, first in that village, then living on his own so he could attend middle school and then high school in the town below. His story here is told in English, with many photos.
Who is it for? Anyone who wants to know about life in rural Laos will enjoy it. Here in Laos, it's a book that young people can read to improve their English skills.
More about Growing Up on the Mountain | Free download
The Red-Headed Club, and other stories
Three popular Sherlock Holmes stories, with simplified English. Lao and English side by side. Illustrated.
Who is it for? Anyone studying Lao or English, particularly if they know one of these languages and are learning the other.
More about The Red-Headed Club | Free download
Phiiyamoi
A traditional Lao folktale about the witch, Phiiyamoi, and the poor fisherman she forces to marry her. Lao language.
Who is it for? Primarily of interest to Lao families, in Laos and abroad.
More about Phiiyamoi | Free download
No Chickens, No Eggs
Thongkham searched thousands of pictures to create this entertaining alphabet book. Each letter is illustrated with 6-12 words, and pictures, that start with that letter.. Lao and English, illustrated.
Who is it for? This was originally intended for Lao children, learning the Lao alphabet. It has also proven highly popular with older students learning either Lao, or English.
More about No Chickens, No Eggs | Free download
Women's Health
This long-needed book, which will benefit women and their medical caregivers, is adapted from "Where Women Have No Doctor," published by the Hesperian Foundation. It covers women's reproductive systems; pregnancy; childbirth; and breastfeeding; and the special concerns of girls and young women. Lao. Illustrated.
Who is it for? This book is posted online primarily to make it more available to hospitals, health centers, and health workers in Laos who have internet access. We hope, of course, that others will also benefit.
More about Women's Health | Free download
One Mouse and Seven Cats
This book was originally intended to introduce Lao children to simple arithmetic concepts. The pictures depict many scenes that reflect everyday life for Lao children, but are quite out-of-the-ordinary for western readers. For this PDF, we've added background information at the end, in English, explaining each picture. Lao and English. Illustrated.
Who is it for? School classes that would like to learn about another culture. Families planning a visit to Laos.
More about One Mouse and Seven Cats | Free download
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Will Peter learn to obey his mother, before he becomes tomorrow's larp? Here's our Lao version of a long-time favorite. Lao and English. illustrated.
Who is it for? Children who speak Lao, but do not have many opportunities to read it. Anyone learning English or Lao, particularly at a beginner or intermediate level.
More about The Tale of Peter Rabbit | Free download
The Grasshopper War, and other stories
Five traditional Lao stories. Lao language, illustrated.
Who is it for? Children who speak Lao, but do not have many opportunities to read it.
More about The Grasshopper War | Free download
Lao Proverbs Coloring Book
Children can learn our culture's proverbs as they color Ounla's entertaining cartoons. Lao language. Illustrated.
Who is it for? Lao people, particularly children. Anyone studying Lao language at an intermediate level.
More about Lao Proverbs Coloring Book | Free download
* Practice Lao
* Help your children learn Lao
* Teach Lao to children, in Laos or elsewhere
* Use bilingual titles to practice English.
These may be read on a computer, or printed. The titles listed may occasionally change. If you see a particular book that interests you, please download it promptly.
Image quality: We apologize if artwork in some books is not always sharp. We do not have high-speed internet connections, so we cannot upload large files, and others in Laos cannot download them. As a result, graphic quality in some of these PDFs has been reduced to keep files smaller.
If you enjoy the chance to read books like these, please remember that many people in Laos have no access to books at all. We hope you'll consider sponsoring a book with us.
The following books can be used for all the purposes above, and one more: We give permission to anyone in other countries, including publishers and reading projects, to adapt, translate, and print these books.
Fly, Fly, Fly
Eye-catching photos of animals flying, crawling, climbing, and more, with short captions in both Lao and English.
Who is it for? Everyone enjoys this book. It's particularly aimed at children learning to read, so they can take pride in reading a book "all by myself." And it's a book they'll enjoy reading again and again.
More about Fly, Fly, Fly! | Free download
Let's Eat
Eye-catching photos of animals eating, gnawing, pecking, and more, with short captions in both Lao and English.
Who is it for? Like it's companion Fly, Fly, Fly, this is a book that everyone enjoys, and it's particularly appealing to children learning to read.
More about Let's Eat | Free download
A wide range of Big Brother Mouse books can be read online, on a phone, tablet, or computer, as well as by downloading these PDFs.
We had several discussions as we considered whether to put some of our books online, for free, easy access. Internet companies have spent billions of dollars trying to make their products addictive, and they've succeeded. Many people, including children as young as age two or three, are glued to a phone many hours a day. Studies suggest that heavy phone use contributes to depression, particularly in adolescents.
So before we posted books online, we asked ourselves: Were we contributing to a problem, or introducing young people to reading, through the medium they know best?
We concluded that not posting books would not encourage anyone to use the phone less and read more. Posting books could easily convince some people to seek out more such books on paper. We decided to put a sample of our list online.
These include easy books for new readers; fairy tales; science, and history. We also have a section of bilingual books for people learning English or Lao. You can find them here:
Read Lao-language books online on your cellphone, tablet, or computer.