One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference (Citi… (2024)

One small loan made a big difference. Very inspiring story.

American author Katie Smith Milway and Canadian illustrator Eugenie Fernandes, who have also collaborated on Cappuccina Goes to Town and Mimi's Village: And How Basic Health Care Transformed It, turn in this picture-book to the subject of microfinance. The story follows Kojo, a young Ashanti boy in Ghana who cannot afford to go to school, after the recent death of his father. When he and his mother are given a micro-loan by the village coop, and there is a little bit left after his mother buys a cart for the firewood she sells, Kojo buys one hen. From this small beginning, great things come, as Kojo slowly builds up his flock, sells his surplus eggs, and gains enough money to return to school. From there he studies hard, eventually winning a scholarship, and going on to study agriculture. Eventually, he starts a farm and business of his own, going on to great success, and having a beneficial effect on other impoverished people, and on his country...

I've read a few books now about Heifer International - Jan West Schrock's

The subtitle of One Hen suggests eligibility for the Jane Addams book award, which prizes children's books that encourage young people to participate in creative solutions to problems. In One Hen, Kojo has a good idea, to use a small loan from village co-op funds to buy a hen: the hen produces eggs, the eggs bring in funds to buy more hens, more eggs, school fees, and eventually a farm, which provides employment and pays taxes that support the entire country. Kojo also makes a loan to another family, with the stipulation that one day, they will do the same.
The child protagonist is empowering to child readers, the text is printed on golden pages, suggesting light and hope, and best of all, the story is based on the life of a real person, Kwabena Darko, who did indeed use a good idea and a small loan to make a difference in the lives of many. Beyond the story itself however, the imaginative illustrations lighten up the message. Look closely, for example, among the sellers in the market and you'll find chickens, larger than life, buying and selling in their own stalls, alongside Kojo and his eggs.
For students who are inspired by the cooperative economics lesson of One Hen, the back matter includes a website with information on organizations that provide microcredit, as well as a glossary of helpful words and concepts.

This is a true story about a young boy who turns a small loan into a profitable business. The narrative has two layers; a simple, short narrative about what Kojo did, printed in a larger font, followed by a longer narrative explanation of what happened. The story isn't very long, but we still broke it up into two readings (mainly because I was very tired and was starting to fall asleep.)

The illustrations are terrific and complement the story very nicely. We really enjoyed reading this book together and our girls were impressed at what a small amount of money could accomplish, given the drive to succeed and the willingness to work hard.

After reading this book, we were inspired to look up some websites for microcredit lending. www.kiva.org looks very interesting...

A story of young entrepreneurship that starts with a good idea and a small loan. The loan leads to an education and ends up making a big difference. An inspiring story about paying it forward. Accompanied by bright illustrations, this book is a great addition to any children's library.

I read this book as part of a lesson for students who were exploring different countries of Africa. It is a long read aloud, but the students were engaged in the story. The illustrations are very full of details and there is a lot to see. The colorful palette was nice, too.

Genre: Diverse Literature
Awards: N/A
Audience: 1st grade - 6th grade
This book shows how one simple act of generosity can set up a family in poverty for success. Kojo, a Ghanan boy whose father died and mother struggled to provide financially, receives a small loan and invests in a hen, in which he eventually creates a farm that provides for his family.
A. Ghana culture is portrayed in this book.
B. Poultry farms are common in Ghana, and this cultural custom is discussed.
C. The author portrayed this culture in a positive light, not focusing too much on poverty, but rather focusing on being responsible with what is given to you.

Based on a true story of how a small loan lifts a boy and his mother, and then his community out of poverty.

Rounded up because of the message of giving people a chance and the message that taxes help improve the community.

This book shows the great story of Kojo, who starts with a hen to growing a successful farm in his village that changes everything. It is a great book that shows how valuable food and money is in other cultures. It also is about a boy following his dream to also act an inspiration. Very good book!!

“One Hen” would serve as a great model text to demonstrate “cause and effect” organization, as Kojo’s small loan turns into one hen, and then many eggs which he can sell to buy more chickens, and so on. As Kojo’s story takes place in the Ashanti region of Ghana, this book also offers a multi-cultural perspective that will most likely be new to the majority of students. “One Hen” would be beneficial for middle school students to be exposed to, as they are faced with a lot more independence and choice-making than they are used to at this age, and the book is all about how one decision can create a ripple effect and make a big impact on someone’s life. When using “One Hen” in the classroom, Kelly Gallagher’s “A Leads to B” chart could additionally be utilized for students to map out the cause and effect relationships that are happening throughout it.

Katie Smith Milway’s, One Hen, is a must read!

Milway’s impressive resume: partner at the Bridgespan Group, coordinator of community development programs in Africa for Food for the Hungry International, and living and working in Africa for years doing research, made her more than qualified to create an accurate and authentic portrayal of a young Ghanian boy’s life. (http://www.papertigers.org) With an inspirational idea, perseverance, and a small loan, the young boy, Kojo, changes not only his life, but the lives of many others too.

One Hen would be a wonderful read aloud for students. Its inspirational story is a great springboard for discussion. Milway elegantly and naturally integrates cultural details. As a reader you get to follow Kojo’s journey through Ghana’s markets, farms, and mud-walled houses. You get to hear about different foods such as fufu and cassava. You get to go dress up in a uniform, and learn practical lessons at school with Kojo. These cultural details offer students an outside perspective, a window into a culture different of their own. Kojo’s “one hen” demonstrates to the reader the significance that one small idea could potentially play in a life…. how that small idea could change a whole country overtime. This inspirational story, shows students that their dreams and ideas matter; they won’t happen automatically, but overtime with dedication and hard work, your dreams could come true. The loan signifies the importance of lending a helping hand, and believing and hoping in other’s dreams.

Canada’s, Eugenie Fernane, illustrated One Hen. Her vibrant use of acrylics helped depict Kojo’s journey. The use of colors aided in the understanding of Ghana’s culture, and complimented the text. Fernane’s whimsical approach makes the story enticing to children.

Two components of the book complete the 5 star rating! It includes a story at the end about a “Real Kojo”. A man from Ghana who had a similar story to his. This makes Kojo’s story more meaningful to the reader to know that this really happened in real life. It also includes a section about how readers can help, and offers information on several organizations that give loans to help people start small businesses, to help them stay out of poverty. I love this proactive, meaningful approach to having readers take a stand for something they know can change lives.

I am excited to read this book to my students. This is a story that everyone should read. One small hen, one small dream… can turn out to be bigger than one ever imagined.

Kojo and his mother live in a village in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Since his father died, Kojo has had to quit school and help his mother sell wood in the market. He and his mother never have much money or much food to eat. None of the families in their area have much money but they do have a good idea. Each family plans to save a little money so that one family may buy something important. Each family will take turns borrowing the money. When it is Kojo’s families turn to borrow the money they buy a car for hauling wood and a hen. It was Kojo’s idea to buy the hen so that they may eat and sell its’ eggs. Kojo’s hen begins to make quite the profit. In two months he makes enough to pay his mother back. In four months he has enough to buy another hen. After six months he buys another hen and he and his mother can each have an egg a day. One year later Kojo has built up his flock to 25 hens. Keeping this many hens healthy and happy and retrieving all of their eggs is hard work. However Kojo has been able to save up enough money to go back to school. Kojo is learning a lot of useful stuff at school and his dreams begin to grow bigger. Kojo studies so hard he earns a scholarship to an agricultural school. Now Kojo dreams of a farm of his own and his dream comes true. Soon Kojo marries and as the years go by they have three boys and two girls all strong and clever. Before long many people are working on Kojo’s farm. Because of Kojo’s farm all of these people are able to support their families and his town, Ghana is also prospering.
This is a true story that shows, bit by bit, as one person helps another the lives of many people improve and so do the lives of their children. If every culture was more like this it truly would be a healthier, happier world.

One Hen is a story about a young boy, Kojo, living in Africa who is being raised by his mother after his father’s death. They live in a poor, rural village and the boy has to stop going to school in order to help his mother. They gather and sell firewood in the village square. One day the village decides to start saving money and work together to give a loan to each family in turn. When it is Kojo’s families turn his mother buys a cart so they can carry and sell more wood at a time. With the left over money Kojo buys a hen. He starts by getting fie eggs a week, him and his mother eating one each, and selling the other three. As the weeks go by, Kojo saves enough money to pay back his mother and buy a second hen. Kojo continues to save and buy chickens until he has his own small farm. Finally he is able to go to school again. After graduating college Kojo marries and buys land to expand his chicken farm. His farm keeps growing and Kojo must hire workers to help. After many years the town and country has improved all because of one loan and a boy with a dream.
This book has an appealing format. Each page has a big picture on one side and a page of text on the opposite. This can be hard for many young children to read, so the author put one sentence per page in bigger font that tells the main idea from that page. Readers will like this because they can still understand the story from one sentence and looking at the pictures.

Grade Level: 2-4

This whimsically illustrated story about a boy named Kojo in modern-day Ghana, is based on the life of entrepreneur Kwabena Darko. When Kojo asks for the money left-over from a small business loan received by his mother, he buys a hen and begins selling the extra eggs at the market. As time goes on, Kojo is able to turn his profits into additional hens, and raises enough money for school fees. His investment in "one hen" eventually evoloves into the biggest poultry farm in Western Africa, allowing Kojo to loan money to other small businesses, and ultimately helping out his local economy. This is a great book that explains the concept of microfinance through its accessible text and storyline. If used as a read-aloud, there is large text on each page that lends itself to choral reading. At the end of the story, the author has included a biography of the real Kojo, along with a glossary of terms (a great feature of text to point out to students!), and information about what readers can do to get involved. This story might very well inspire students to make a difference in their own community with its message about the power of one individual with a good idea. It would be a terrific tie-in to a unit on economics or to illustrate responsibility to the larger community.

Based on the real life story of Kwabena Darko, a poor young boy, Kojo, and his mother live in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The villagers decide to pool their money together for a loan so one family at a time can buy something important. When its her turn, Kojo's mother buys a cart to haul more firewood to the market. Kojo takes a few leftover coins and buys a hen. Eventually that hen leads to an egg business which allows Kojo to buy more hens. By now, he is making enough money from selling all the eggs to pay his school fees and continue his education. Eventually, Kojo gets a scholarship to attend an ag school. With his increased education and savings from selling eggs, he gets a bank loan to start his own egg farm. The farm becomes a big success and employs many workers from the surrounding area. Kojo loans money to a neighbor to start a grain mill, bringing the cycle of a small loan full circle.

The book provides great support for younger readers through the pictures and larger text on each spread which follows the pattern like, "This is the house that Jack built." There is additional info about the ral life Kojo and village banks and microfinance at the end of the book.

I didn't expect to be adding picture books to GoodReads, but I couldn't resist adding this one. One Hen is the story of a boy living in Ghana whose mother gets a loan to buy a cart so she can carry more wood to the market. Using a few leftover pennies from the loan, Kojo buys a hen so he can sell the eggs. Based on the life of Kwabena Darko, a poor boy who learned to raise chickens and today is a successful poultry producer, the story is really a primer on the microfinance movement. Kwabena Darko is well-known because he founded Sinapi Aba ((Mustard Seed) Trust to give small loans to Ghanaians. One of the pleasures of the book is that it can be read on many levels. First of all, there is the story of Kojo raising his hens and eventually becoming a successful entrepreneur. Then, there is the simple, cumulative story of Kojo told in text that is part of the colorful, lively and imaginative illustrations. Finally, there is the back matter full of interesting and useful information on microfinance in a variety of countries.

One Hen is the moving story about Kojo, a young boy from Ghana. Kojo and his widowed mother collect firewood to sell. They live in a mud-walled house with an open fire for cooking. Beside it is a garden where they grow their own food. They never have much money or much to eat. The families in Kojo’s village come up with an idea and from then Kojo’s life starts to change for the better. An exciting story, suitable for KS2. The author does an outstanding job in taking an adult topic and weaving it into a child friendly story.

A good introduction to an incredibly complex topic, One Hen shows readers the impact that a small loan can make on a family and community. The topic of micro finance is timely, but the issue of poverty is nothing new. The difference here, is that the message is hopeful; the message isn't that the world's poor need only handouts and pity, it is with a little bit of help and hope, anyone can be empowered.

The lengthy text is a bit weighty, but the short verse running throughout makes a nice truncated read for younger listeners.

This was an inspiring story about how a small monetary loan to a boy in Africa snowballed into economic prosperity not only for the man the boy became, but for those around him, and, ultimately, his country. Apparently there are organizations you can contribute money to that give out small, low-interest loans to individuals in third-world countries to help them better themselves economically. Most interesting... and highly recommended!

This was a beautifully illustrated children’s book teaching community values of money, sharing, and prosperity in a small monetarily poor community in Ghana. One boy and One Hen bring hope, honor, and change to not only himself and his mother, but the community and generations to come.
I liked the glossary at the end. Elementary students may need a pronunciation guide for many words and names.

Ages 8-10

Categories/Genres for this class fulfilled by this book: Picture Books, Realistic Fiction, Multi-Cultural

Copyright Date: 2008

Estimate of age level of interest: Grade 2–5

Estimate of Reading level: Grade 3

Brief Description: Inspired by true events, One Hen tells the story of Kojo, a boy from Ghana who turns a small loan into a thriving farm and a livelihood for many.

Identify at least 2 characteristics of this genre and subgenre and discuss how they appear in your book:

Picture books use text and illustrations together to tell the story. In the book illustrates how Kojo used the loan money to buy one hen and turn it into a large farm. The pictures add details and bring the story to life. Picture books also employ elements of design to tell a story. The book's pictures bring Kojo's world alive to readers from other regions trough the use of text and color. The child protagonist is empowering to child readers, the text is printed on bright yellow pages, suggesting light and hope, and best of all, the story is based on the life of a real person, Kwabena Darko, who did indeed use a good idea and a small loan to make a difference in the lives of many. The images of the market, the small one room hut Kojo and his mom live in and even Kojo carrying firewood on his head bring the story to life.

In what ways and how well does the book as a whole serve its intended audience?:

One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference is a great story that helps elementary students understand different cultures and how one person can make a big difference. The story is interesting and will draw young readers in and would be a wonderful read aloud for students. At the end of the book in concludes with real life ways, students can go on to support other people like Kojo, creating a wonderful tie or hook for a great classroom lesson.

Awards if any:
Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction Nominee (2009)
Massachusetts Book Award for Children's/Young Adult Literature (2009)

Links to published reviews from professional sources e.g. ALA, Booklist, Kirkus, SLJ, etc. if any:

Kirkus Reviews
Katie SmithMilway - Eugenie Fernandes
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

One Hen, the story of Kojo, a village boy in Ghana tells how the people in Kojo's village took turns saving and then loaning each other money to take on projects to help improve their village. When it is Kojo's turn, he purchases a hen. His hen takes to laying eggs well providing Kojo and his mother with another food source as well as something to sell at the market. Kojo saves the money he makes selling eggs to pay his loan back and then continues to save so that bit by bit he is able to purchase more hens for a total of 25, build a chicken coop, and purchase a uniform and supplies so he can go to school. In school he learns history and geography as well as practical things like purifying water and gardening. Kojo's work pays off - he earns a scholarship to an agricultural college and after graduation he works to find funding for a poultry farm which sustains not only Kojo, but his family and mother, as well as, a staff of 120 employees. His work has led to success for his entire village and inspired others who also want to transform their lives through starting their own business. The brightly colored illustrations help to depict the story and share the Ghanian culture by showing the transformation from Kojo being a small village boy to a successful farmer with a family of his own in a large and successful village. This picture book is one that can be used across grade levels to demonstrate how children do have power to change their lives, with the help of the adults around them. One Hen is not only a story to inspire, but is an organization which works to empower children to become entrepreneurs and create social change in their own lives and home towns. The organization aims to provide educational resources which will help educate children in how to start their own business while learning financial responsibility, raising global awareness and teaching the importance of giving back to the community so that all can benefit. It is an inspiring story which shows how perseverance and determination along with a little planning and kindness can make a huge difference in the lives of many.

One Hen: How a Small Loan Can Make a Big Difference (Citizen kid) by Katie Smith Milway, Illustrator Eugenie Fernandes- Children’s Illustrated Motivational Colour picture Book- The book narrates the inspiring story of Kojo a young boy from Ghana, Africa. His father has expired. He has left his school so that he can collect dry wood to sell in the market and survive. In his village, there is a tradition that people save money and provide a loan to one another. Kojo’s mother gets a loan. She offers a part of the loan to Kojo for plan on his own. Kojo plans to purchase a hen so that he can sell eggs in the market on Friday, market day. With sale of eggs, things change in the life of Kojo. First, he pays his loan to his mother, he saves money to pay for his school fees. He completes his education about farming and poultry. Kojo gets a loan from a Bank to start a large poultry farm. Soon the farm is thriving. Kojo's story is inspired by the life of Kwabena Darko, who as a boy started a tiny poultry farm just like Kojo's, which later grew to be the largest in Ghana, and one of the largest in West Africa. Kwabena also started a trust that gives out small loans to people who cannot get a loan from a bank. One Hen shows what happens when a little help makes a big difference. The pages of the Book, Loan for one “One Hen” explains the microloan (finance) system. One Hen is part of Citizen Kid: A collection of books that inform children about the world and inspire them to be better global citizens. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book. The coloured illustrations help the reader to relate to the story.

Concise Summary: One Hen by Katie Smith Milway follows the story of a young boy from a village in Uganda named Kojo. Kojo and his mother get a microloan, which he uses to buy a chicken. He then sells the chicken's eggs to market and begins to make a great profit from it. Over a long period of time, Kojo pulls himself out of poverty and builds a very successful life through education and hard work. Watch, as a young boy in rural Ghana flourishes into a successful and kind businessman.

Themes: Themes explored in this book include poverty, global literature, smart money-handling skills, and hard work.

Personal Response: This book explains how a microloan works, and it emphasizes the power of making smart decisions with money. The vibrant illustrations depict life in Ghana well, and I think that the colors and style of illustrations are very fitting for the book's setting. It is beautiful to see how Kojo's dream transforms through hard work and resilience, as well. I think the book is a good example of global literature, and it serves as a "window" into a child's life that is different from most children in America. It also may serve as a "mirror," as many children experience poverty. This book offers "success story" of sorts. By the end of the book, I felt a strong connection to Kojo and was very happy to celebrate his success and generosity as a reader.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book as an exceptional piece of global literature. It gives great insight into the life of a boy living in rural villages. It could help children develop emotionally and socially, as they gain the perspective of a boy growing up in a different part of the world. Discussions about dreaming and goal setting, and working hard to make a dream a reality, could also be ignited when reading One Hen. Additionally, the book could also be used to teach children how one small loan can make a difference in a person's life and to accompany a lesson about the value of money saving.

This book tells the story of a young boy named Kojo who uses part of his family’s loan to purchase a brown hen. He uses the eggs produced from his hen to feed his family and then sells the extra eggs at the market. Eventually, he uses the extra money from the market to expand his buisness into a large poultry farm with 900 hens. His farm creates jobs for the people of his town and he uses his profits to give out small business loans to the people of his country in an effort to help them escape poverty just as he did.

I really liked the illustrations in this book. The illustrator incorporated a mixture of imagination and reality into his pictures which reflected the mixture of reality and dreams present throughout the text. I also really appreciated that there is a section in the back of the book entitled “the real kojo” which gives the reader more insight into the person that this story is based on.

This is a great resource for students to learn about cause and effect and the impact of kindness. I would love to read this book out loud to students and then have them discuss ways that they can positively impact the lives of others with their actions. This could be included in a unit about kindness, bullying, or even earth day. There is even a section at the end of the book entitled “what can you do to help?” which further encourages readers to reflect on their actions and make even the smallest impactful changes.

This is the story about how change happens in the world, one person, one family, one community at a time. Kojo and his mother live in Ghana with not much food and money. The village he lives in comes up with an idea to put money aside, combine it, and create a loan to be paid back for each family. Kojo chooses to invest this loan in a hen and pays back his loan in 2 months and buys more hens with his savings. Kojo continues this way affording his way into school, getting another loan for his own poultry farm, building his own family, hiring other families, building a community and with his taxes helps improve Ghana’s schools, roads, and health clinics.

In the back, there is a Glossary for the Ghanan words used in the book. One Hen includes the inspiring story of whom Kojo was based on, Kwabena Darko. It also includes organizations who provide small loans to connect with as well as stories of others who have benefited from small loans. This book sends a message to give people a chance and that taxes help communities grow.

Katie Smith Milway has coordinated community development programs in Africa and Latin America for Food for the Hungry International. She writes on sustainable development and currently works for an international management consultancy.

Copyright: 2008
Number of Pages: 112
Book Format: paperback
Reading Level: grades 3-7
Genre: fiction
Lit Requirement: Picture book for older readers

Summary:
This true story is about an African American boy named Kojo. He received a small amount of his mother's loan and with it he buys a hen. This book takes us through Kojo's hen raising experience. Kojo and his family started very poor and then he works his way up to being well off. He raises 25 chickens and becuase of that he made it back to school and he grows a huge farm! He uses this opportunity to help others instead of keeping the money for himself and becoming greedy. This book shows how one person can help change an entire community.

Review:
I love this book!! It is an amazing diverse book to add to the classroom library. I love the message that Katie gives. Kojo inspired other children to be better community members and to be good to other people rather than doing everything for yourself. I definitely recommend this book to anyone with young children who may not like like to share or are all about themselves.

This book is beautifully illustrated. This book is about a young boy Kojo who takes a small bit of a loan from his mother to buy a hen. From this hen, big things begin to happen for him and his family. He buys 3 more hens and goes to college with the money he has made from the hens. He uses what he has learned in college to buy a field, which provides jobs for his village. This book just shows that when you put your mind to something it can be done. You could also use this book to show different cultures, in this case Ghana, and how they live their lives compared to here. I would recommend this book to probably a 3-4th grade level because the pages are a bit text heavy and include some difficult words. At the end of this story there is a note about the real Kojo, which I believe is very unique because it can show readers that this character is real and he did complete these things in his life because he believed he could.

This book is AWESOME for real life cultures that occur today to relate to young children going through similar situations today. Being informed through a young boys point of view on what his life is like and the struggle he endures was very effective for the readers to connect to the book without being bored. The authors style is informal and relaxed yet I found it quite beneficial this way to be suitable for the intended listeners. When reading throughout the book it portrays plenty of relations to other children so the author makes sure the character can relate to individuals. Although the book is well defined it gives an inspiration on how to react to the adversity given to the young boy in the book. Finally, I found the book a inspiring non-fiction book that I highly recommend to young children!