This is the story of Kojo, a young boy who lives with his mother in a small village in Ghana. When Kojo was young his father died, and he had to quit school in order to help his mother collect wood to sell at the market. In their village, each family saves up a little bit of money, then they put all of the money together, and take turns using the savings. When it is Kojo’s mother’s turn, she has a little bit of money left over, which she gives to Kojo to spend wisely. Kojo buys one hen, and from there the story evolves into an uplifting tale about Kojo, and how he used the eggs from his first hen to buy a second hen, and these two hens evolve into a chicken farm, and enough money for Kojo to go back to school. Kojo ends up with his own chicken farm and provides jobs for several people in his village. He has his own family, and makes a point to be a community worker. At the end of the book, the reader is introduced to “A Real Kojo,” a man named Kwabena from Ghana. Kwabena has a very similar story to Kojo. Being able to connect this story with a real-life person truly brings the book to life, and helps the reader make connections. On the last pages, there are some ideas of ways that you can help make changes in the world, one person, family, and community at a time. This is a really great book that does a nice job of illustrating life outside of the United States. Using this book with your class, you could go through and discuss some similarities and differences between life in this village in Ghana, and life in our community or city. It is so important for students to see that not everyone lives the same way that we do, and we need to keep that in mind. This is a great book for looking at a different way of life, and it could really help open students’ eyes to rest of the world.
