Hi friends, here is my last post for April. Winter is not too far along now here in Auckland. I hope you enjoyed last week’s personal post about my life in Zambia during my childhood. This last post is a review about a book I had heard about but didn’t read until recently. This biographical junior read is about an actual young African teenager who was inspired to do more for his family and community.
Title: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Author: William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealor
Pictures by Elizabeth Zunon
Genre: Non-Fiction Biography
Publication details: Dial Books for Young Readers; NY, 2012
ISBN: 9780803735118
What this book is about: When William Kamkwamba was fourteen-years-old, living in a drought-ravaged area of Malawi in Africa, he pursued a dream that brought electricity and running water to his desperately poor village. He had always been interested in how mechanical things work, and after poring over old science textbooks, he became determined to build a windmill. William taught himself English so that he could understand the books. The people in his village called him crazy, but he knew he could succeed. Slowly he turned junkyard scraps into a fascinating windmill, and brought electricity to his home and eventually life-saving water to his village. Lyrically told with some glorious illustrations, William’s story shows how – no matter how young you are or how huge the challenge – creativity, determination, and hard work can help save the world!
My review: What an awesome read this was!! As far as children’s non-fiction goes, I found this quite captivating with its lyrical narrative and amazing illustrations which give a depth to this true story of a courageous and determined young man. Not long after reading this I watched the Netflix movie directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor with the same title as the book which was filmed entirely in Malawi and felt awed by it!! What an amazing, moving and inspirational story about the true life story an amazing young man!!
My rating: 5 ⭐
Miss Mahee's Library of Reads 