Ghana Resources

Aardema, Verna. Anansi Does the Impossible. Atheneum Books for young Readers, 1997. Anansi and his wife outsmart the Sky God and win back the beloved folktales of their people.

Ahiagble, Gilbert and Louise Meyer. Master Weaver from Ghana. Open Hand Publishers, 1988. This beautiful picture book introduces a contemporary Ghanaian weaver and his art.

Angelou, Maya. Kofi and His Magic. Clarkson N. Potter/Random House, 1996. This is a beautiful book with lovely, color photographs. However, there are a number of errors in the text. 1) When discussing the Golden Stool, the author mistakenly tells readers that “only the Ashanti King can sit on it” (however, not even the King sits on the Golden stool, which is a symbol of the country), 2) Asante not “Ashanti” is the indigenous name of this Ghanaian group, 3) The Asante speak the Twi language, not “Ashanti.” Overall the text appears to be a vehicle for a stunning set of photographs.

Appiah, Peggy. Tales of an Ashanti Father. Beacon, 1989. This is a book of well told traditional folktales. Recommended for upper elementary or middle school.

Appiah, Sonia. Amoko and Efua Bear. Macmillan, 1989. Amoko, a little girl living on Ghana, takes her favorite teddy bear everywhere that she goes and is heartbroken when she thinks he’s lost. This is a picture book.

Benson, James & Kathleen. African Beginnings. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1998. This picture book briefly introduces various African kingdoms and events, including several in Ghana.

Berry, James. Don’t Leave an Elephant to Go and Chase a Bird. Simon Schuster, 1996. Anansi Spider Man trades various items with the people he encounters, until he himself is distracted by a bird and ends up empty-handed.

Boateng, Yaw Ababio. Kodua’s Ark. Chelsea House, 1994. The story of a man, considered a good-for-nothing, who decides to do something positive with his life. Grade level is upper elementary in subject matter but elemenatry in reading level.

Boateng, Yaw Ababio. The Young Detectives. Chelsea House, 1994. Twin brothers happen to see three jewel thieves and help the police to capture them.

Boateng, Yaw Ababio. Miss John. Chelsea House, 1991.

Joanna loves adventures but is always getting into trouble. Everyone tells her she behaves like a boy. But why can’t girls run in races or go to the airport on a field trip? Joanna decides to prove she can do anything boys can.

Brace, Steve. Ghana. Wayland Publishers, 1994. With large, clear photos and simple explanations, this book manages to cover a great deal of ground very quickly. Readers learn about Ghana’s history, economy, city and rural life; students also briefly “meet” several families, both wealthy and working class. Upper elementary.

*Dee, Ruby. Tower to Heaven. Henry Holt, 1991. When Yaa, who loves to talk while she works, hits the Sky God one too many times with her pestle, he disappears high up into the heavens. This is a picture book.

Djoleta, Amu. Twins in Trouble. Chelsea House, 1994.
A story of how one twin gets into trouble while the other one gets blamed.

Djoleta, Amu. The Frightened Thief. Chelsea House, 1994. A story of a boy and mistaken identity.

Haley, Gail. A Story, A Story. Macmillan, 1970.
This tale explains how Anansi obtained the world’s stories from God.

Hansen, Joyce. The Captive. Scholastic, 1994. This perceptive historical novel won the 1995 African Studies Children’s Book Award for Older Readers. It contrasts two cultures, the Asante kingdom of Ghana and New England during the era of slavery. The novel tells the story of Kofi, a young boy who was kidnapped in what is now Ghana and enslaved in the United States. This is for upper elementary or middle school.

Hintz, Martin. Ghana. Children’s Press, 1987. This introduction to Ghana covers the country’s culture and history.

Killingray, David. Nyerere and Nkrumah. Greenhaven Press, 1980. This very brief (30pp) book offers an introduction to two of Africa’s great independence leaders, including Nkrumah of Ghana. Middle school and up.

Kimmel, Eric A. Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock. Troll Associates, 1993.
Anansi the Spider uses a strange moss-covered rock in the forest to trick all the other animals, until Little Bush Deer decides he needs to learn a lesson.

Kimmel, Eric. Anansi and the Talking Melon. Holiday House, 1994. In this picture book, Anansi the Spider talks inside a melon and fools Elephant into thinking the melon is talking.

Maddern, Eric. The Fire Children: A West African Creation Tale. Dial, 1993. This picture book is a retelling of an Akan tale about the creation of the world and all its different peoples. This retelling is an adaptation of a legend that appears in Gods and Men: Myths and Legends from the World’s Religions.

Mann, Kenny. Oyo, Benin, Ashanti: The Guinea Coast. Dillon Press, 1996.
A survey of the legends and history of the West African kingdoms of Oyo, Benin, and Asante with discussion of the slave trade and its effect on the peoples of the Guinea Coast. Middle school and up.

McDermott, Gerald. Anansi, the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti. Henry Holt, 1972. This picture book uses Asante art forms to tell the story of Kwaku Anansi and his six sons.

Medearis, Angela Shelf. Too Much Talk. Candlewick Press, 1995. In this tale from Ghana, a farmer is shocked when a yam, his trusted dog, a fish, cloth, and water criticize him. This is a picture book.

Newton-Chocolate, Deborah M. Talk. Troll Associates, 1993. A farmer is startled when first a yam and then a dog, a tree, and a stone talk to him.

Sekyi, Kofi. The Haunted Cab Driver. Chelsea House, 1994. A drunken cab driver hits a girl with his car, though it doesn’t kill her. To scare him sober, the girl’s sister dresses up as a ghost to haunt him. Middle school.

Souhami, Jessica. The Leopard’s Drum: An Asante Tale from West Africa. Little Brown, 1995.
With bold illustrations adapted from her own shadow puppets, Jessica Souhami retells the story of how a very small tortoise outwits a boastful leopard in this traditional tale.

Washington, Donna. How Anansi Obtained the Sky God’s Stories. Children’s Press, 1991.
In this trickster tale from West Africa, Anansi the Spider sets out to retrieve all the stories of the world from Nyame, the Sky God. This is a picture book.