Appiah, Peggy. Britain / Ghana (1921- )

Peggy Appiah was born on May 21, 1921 in Gloucestershire, England. The daughter of Sir Stafford Cripps and Isobel Swithenbank, she spent a happy childhood attending Goodfellows county home, Maltman's Green School and later Whitehall Secretarial College. In 1953 she married Joe E. Appiah, a Ghanaian who was to become a barrister (lawyer) and government official in his home country. Peggy and Joe, who had four children (Anthony, Isobel, Adwoa, Abena), moved to their home in Kumasi, Ghana in 1954. Joe Appiah died in 1990.

Peggy began collecting and writing children's books in 1961. Most of her story books are about village and forest life, animals and birds. English by birth and Ashanti by marriage, Peggy writes stories about Ashanti's old and complex culture. Her books appeal to both British and Ghanaian audiences.

For more information see:

Something about the author. Facts and pictures about authors and illustrators of books for young people. Vol 84. Detroit: Gale Research, 1996.

Something about the author, autobiography series. Vol 19. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.

St. James Guide to Children's writers. 5th Edition. Detroit: St James Press, 1999.

Published stories:

Ananse the spider: Tales fron an Ashanti village. New York: Pantheon, 1966.

Kyekyekulee, Grandmother's tales. Accra: Quick Service Books, 1993.

Yao and the python. London: Evans, 1971.

The children of Ananse. London: Evans, 1968.

Why there are so many roads. Lagos: African University Press, 1972.

The Lost Earring. London: Evans, 1971.

The pineapple child and other tales from Ashanti. London: Evans, 1969.

Tales of an Ashanti father. Boston: Beacon Press, 1989.

Gift of the Mmoatia. Accra: Ghana Publishing, 1972.

Ring and Gold. London: Deutsch, 1976.

Kofi and the crow. Accra: Quick Service Books, 1991.

Afua and the mouse. Accra: Quick Service Books, 1991.

Why the Hyena does not care for Fish and other tales from the Ashanti gold weights. London: Deutsch, 1971.

Abena and the python. Accra: Quick Service Books, 1991.

The twins. Accra: Quick Service Books, 1991.

Busy body. Accra: Asempa, 1995.

The Rubbish heap. Accra: Asempa, 1995.

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