
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Young Readers Edition
Penguin Young Readers Group · Print & ebook · January 5, 2016
Now a Netflix film starring and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, this is a gripping memoir of survival and perseverance about the heroic young inventor who brought electricity to his Malawian village.
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- Who it’s for
- A memoir of practical science and resourcefulness under pressure, rooted in family and community.
- Themes
- Survival and perseverance, Ingenuity and invention, Drought and food insecurity
- Genres
- Science & Tech Biographies for Kids, Inventions, Africa for Kids
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Now a Netflix film starring and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, this is a gripping memoir of survival and perseverance about the heroic young inventor who brought electricity to his Malawian village. When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba's tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season's crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution.
Continue reading
There, he came up with the idea that would change his family's life forever: he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William's windmill brought electricity to his home and helped his family pump the water they needed to farm the land. Retold for a younger audience, this exciting memoir shows how, even in a desperate situation, one boy's brilliant idea can light up the world. Complete with photographs, illustrations, and an epilogue that will bring readers up to date on William's story, this is the perfect edition to read and share with the whole family.
Ideas Into Action
A memoir of practical science and resourcefulness under pressure, rooted in family and community.
Come here for
- A young inventor’s hands-on answer to a real-world need
- Science learned from books, put to work with scrap materials
Expect
- A younger-audience retelling with photographs and illustrations
- An epilogue bringing William’s story up to date
Where it sits
| Science & Tech Biographies for Kids | 78% |
|---|---|
| Africa for Kids | 63% |
| Inventions | 39% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Science & Tech Biographies for Kids
- Africa for Kids
- Electricity & Electronics
- Authors
- William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer
- Publisher
- Penguin Young Readers Group
- Published
- January 5, 2016
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Survival and perseverance · Ingenuity and invention · Drought and food insecurity
- Reading lane
- Science & Tech Biographies for Kids