Discarded motor parts, PVC pipe,
and an old bicycle wheel may be junk to most people, but in the inspired hands
of William Kamkwamba, they are instruments of opportunity. Growing up amid
famine and poverty in rural Malawi, wind was one of the few abundant resources
available, and the inventive fourteen-year-old saw its energy as a way to power
his dreams. "With a windmill, we'd finally release ourselves from the
troubles of darkness and hunger," he realized. "A windmill meant more
than just power, it was freedom." Despite the biting jeers of village
skeptics, young William devoted himself to borrowed textbooks and salvage yards
in pursuit of a device that could produce an "electric wind." The
Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is an inspiring story of an indomitable will
that refused to bend to doubt or circumstance. When the world seemed to be
against him, William Kamkwamba set out to change it.
So, I was really surprised by this one. I thought it was going to be REALLY dull, but I actually enjoyed it. It is nonfiction (which is nice), definitely different from what we've read before, and it has substance to it (which is good if we're moving toward recycling books in future years). The first half of the book describes the writer's childhood growing up in Malawi, particularly a year when there was a big famine. It is the famine that inspires him to build a windmill (with no education other than books he checks out of the library) so his family can have electricity and pump water to grow crops even during a drought. The book does get a little slow in the section where he describes the physics of his windmill, but it's a small section and in the second half of the book. It ends with a really positive message about working to improve your community, even if it feels impossible or you don't have a lot of resources. I think it could be great, but it will be a challenge getting students to pick it up.
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