Download The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Audible Audio Edition William Kamkwamba Bryan Mealer Chike Johnson HarperCollins Publishers Limited Books
Download As PDF : The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Audible Audio Edition William Kamkwamba Bryan Mealer Chike Johnson HarperCollins Publishers Limited Books
Soon to be a major motion pictured directed by and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor.
When William Kamkwamba was just 14 years old, his family told him that he must leave school and come home to work on the farm - they could no longer afford his fees. This is his story of how he found a way to make a difference, how he brought light to his family and village and hope to his nation.
Malawi is a country battling AIDS, drought and famine, and in 2002 a season of floods, followed by the most severe famine in 50 years, brought it to its knees. Like the majority of the population, William's family were farmers. They were totally reliant on the maize crop. By the end of 2001, after many lean and difficult years, there was no more crop. They were running out of food - had nothing to sell - and had months until they would be able to harvest their crop again.
Forced to leave school at 14 years old, with no hope of raising the funds to go again, William resorted to borrowing books from the small local library to continue his education. One day, browsing the titles, he picked up a book about energy, with a picture of a wind turbine on the front cover. Fascinated by science and electricity, but knowing little more about the technology, William decided to build his own. Ridiculed by those around him, and exhausted from his work in the fields every day, and using nothing more than bits of scrap metal, old bicycle parts and wood from the blue gum tree, he slowly built his very own windmill.
This windmill has changed the world in which William and his family live. Only 2 percent of Malawi has electricity; William's windmill now powers the light bulbs and radio for his compound. He has since built more windmills for his school and his village.
When news of William's invention spread, people from across the globe offered to help him. Soon he was re-enrolled in college and travelling to America to visit wind farms. This is his incredible story.Â
William's dream is that other Africans will learn to help themselves - one windmill and one light bulb at a time - and that maybe one day they will be able to power their own computers, and use the internet, and see for themselves how his life has changed after picking up that book in the library.Â
Download The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Audible Audio Edition William Kamkwamba Bryan Mealer Chike Johnson HarperCollins Publishers Limited Books
"Young reader edition has almost the same number of pages but print is larger and vocabulary is a little more accessible (though not "dumbed down"). My 3rd grade son enjoys reading so he chose it for a non-fiction book report and loved it. Then I read it and loved it too. Of course the famine is very difficult and sad, but the can-do attitude of author William is remarkable. He's an admirable, inspiring problem solver. My son could look at the world through a very different perspective which I think is priceless. We're now getting the rest of the family to read it too. Highly recommended. (FYI...The first chapter tells of witch doctors and magic which may require some explanation for very literal young readers, and I think the book improves quickly after this early section.)"
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Tags : The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Audible Audio Edition) William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer, Chike Johnson, HarperCollins Publishers Limited Books, ,William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer, Chike Johnson, HarperCollins Publishers Limited,The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,HarperCollins Publishers Limited,B07LB68H6Q
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Audible Audio Edition William Kamkwamba Bryan Mealer Chike Johnson HarperCollins Publishers Limited Books Reviews :
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Audible Audio Edition William Kamkwamba Bryan Mealer Chike Johnson HarperCollins Publishers Limited Books Reviews
- My middle-schooler actually liked this book!!!
My son and I struggled partway through some incredibly boring books on the middle school reading list. When it became apparent that he wouldn't finish on time, I desperately looked for something else on the list, knowing that whatever we picked would have to be read morning, noon, and night for him to finish on time. Thank goodness for this book! The story is fascinating and well told, and we thoroughly enjoyed a weekend of binge-reading it.
Even little brother read and enjoyed it with us - voluntarily.
This a great read for young and old, which I plan to pass on to their older sister and my parents. - This was a gift for my 10 year old grandson. He reads a lot and above his grade level. When he saw the title he wasn't impressed and thought he wouldn't like it, but once he started reading it he couldn't stop. He apologized later because he had said he wouldn't like it, but really loved it.
- William's world was not my world. His life was filled with ancient magic and mystery, security was having sacks of corn and not having them was death. A delicious treat wasn't got at the local ice cream shop, but by catching delicious flying ants or trapping birds between a slingshot and a stack of homemade Adobe bricks. Going to school was far from guaranteed, and when famine meant the teachers and students were starving to death, in the schools, it also wasn't a place to find food or shelter. The more William lost, the more he craved. He wanted to learn and when he was blocked from school by his inability to pay the fees, he found the free library, and a book about energy. He figured out how a windmill worked, and "I tried and I made it" barely covers the amazing fact that he built it from recycled trash, only after building the tools he needed, no drill? Heat a nail to red hot and insert it in a corn cob for a handle. The windmill was only one step in his understanding. He had to figure out AC/DC and voltage and insulation, he had to figure out how to make a generator and switches and a circuit breaker to keep his created electricity from burning down the grass roofed hut they lived in, and when his wires collapsed the termite riddled supports of the roof he had to call in the chickens to get the termites out of his bedding. He blended science with hard work and creativity to bring light and a water pump to his village, and to make the world realize that even the starving kids in Malawi have much to offer.
- My 10 year old loved this book. He said it was a very easy read and thought his 8 year old brother could easily read it. He found the story fascinating and inspiring. The main character and their community go through many hardships. It was eye opening to my son, reading about a life so different from his own, yet it was also much the same. Inspiring because a kid was able to take spare bike parts and make a windmill. It was a very “kids can do big things†message for my son. He loved retelling the story over dinner. At the end, my son declared this to be his new favorite book.
- It's about survival after a drought. My young reader has enrolled us in book club at school. This was the teacher's pick. I didn't appreciate reading how to make a knife out of a piece of medal. I thought it was extremely inappropriate to describe how he and friends took his dog in the woods, tied him to a tree and left him to die. Seriously, he even talks about how the dog looked at him as he was walking away after they tied the dog up. There were several other things I hated about this book. I finished this book because it is important to show my young reader that if you commit to something you need to stick with it. I plan on questioning the teaching staff on their extremely inappropriate choice for young readers.
- Young reader edition has almost the same number of pages but print is larger and vocabulary is a little more accessible (though not "dumbed down"). My 3rd grade son enjoys reading so he chose it for a non-fiction book report and loved it. Then I read it and loved it too. Of course the famine is very difficult and sad, but the can-do attitude of author William is remarkable. He's an admirable, inspiring problem solver. My son could look at the world through a very different perspective which I think is priceless. We're now getting the rest of the family to read it too. Highly recommended. (FYI...The first chapter tells of witch doctors and magic which may require some explanation for very literal young readers, and I think the book improves quickly after this early section.)
- This story is a factual account of a young boy's search for a way to help his village. His interest in windmills to generate electricity led him to his community llibrary where he researched the idea. I liked the way the story leads the reader from problem, to idea, to research, to solution, and finally extension. In education, teachers want young students to be able to do all of these steps recognize, define, apply, evaluate, design, extend. All the lessons are incorporated in one story! The fact that this inventor was so young also helps students to realize that you don't have to be famous, rich, highly educated, or an adult to do something of great importance. The cultural part of the story suggests to students that not everyone has the advantages that we, as Americans, are able to enjoy, such as having water on demand. The book's mixture of illustration and authenic photos make the story more realistic, so students can realize that this event actually occurred and that the boy in the story is real. This makes it easier to identify with the boy...his life, his interests, his actions, his dreams. I bought this book for my eight-year-old grandson, but it could be read to a younger audience, and I would greatly recommend it to all age groups.
