Science Book: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba

Kamkwamba, William and Mealer, Bryan. (2012) The boy who harnessed the wind.”  Arlington, Virginia : Dial books for young readers.

This book tells the true story of William Kamkwanba (born august 1987) , an author and inventor from Malawi, a country in southeast Africa.

William lived in relative poverty with his family of farmers, and was forced to drop out of school after a drought brought hard times on his family who could no longer afford tuition fees. So, William undertook his own education at a local library, where he developed a passion for electronics.  William, inspired by what he was learning about, decided to build a makeshift windmill for his family to power a few electronic devices, which he accomplished with a variety of materials he had on hand.  William’s story spread around the world!  In 2007, he was invited to speak at TEDGlobal, in Tanzania. In 2013, Time Magazine named William one of the "30 People Under 30 Changing The World”.  This picture book is the children’s version of a longer biography he wrote, called “The Boy who Harnessed the Wind:  Creating currents of electricity and hope.” The children's book itself tells the story of the hard times his family encountered, him having to leave school, and finishes with him building the windmill.

This book is an excellent book to use in the classroom. It ties directly into the grade 6 science curriculum (electrical devices) by introducing windmills as simple devices which generate electricity. Also, It is an inspiring story about the ability for individuals to effect change, and have a voice, as such it is a great way to bring social justice issues into the class.  It could used in a cross-curricular manner, incorporated also into language arts, or social studies  (strand B - People and Environments: Canada’s Interactions with the Global Community.)

In 2007, Kamkwamba was invited to speak at TEDGlobal, in Tanzania.