KWEKU

The story is set in a farming village in Ghana. It is about three brothers and their parents. The middle boy, Kweku, aged 10, thinks he is smarter than the rest of the family but ends up realizing that he is not that smart and that hard work pays.

Kweku tries to get out of helping out on the family farm by pretending to be sick. His brothers, Kwesi and Kwame, dutifully accompany their father to the farm everyday to clear the land and plant the seeds. Kweku goes out to play with his friends while the rest of the family is busy tending to the farm. After the harvest, Kwesi and Kwame get their rewards in the form of brand new bicycles while Kweku gets nothing. This is painful for Kweku. The following year Kweku is the first person to get up in the morning ready to go to the farm.

Charles Codman Blankson was born in Winneba, Ghana in West Africa. He had his elementary, secondary and university education in Ghana. He has a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of California in Los Angeles. He has lived in California since September 1980. He currently lives with his wife Sophia in Fontana in California. They are the parents of three grown children and two young grandchildren. Story-telling among and within families is a common phenomenon in Ghana. This is Charles' first book.