The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind - by William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer

About the Book

After his African village was hit by a drought, 14-year-old William Kamkwamba learned about electrical windmills at a small library, and after weeks of foraging for junk parts, he did the incredible. Full color.

Book Synopsis

When fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba's Malawi village was hit by a drought, everyone's crops began to fail. Without enough money for food, let alone school, William spent his days in the library . . . and figured out how to bring electricity to his village. Persevering against the odds, William built a functioning windmill out of junkyard scraps, and thus became the local hero who harnessed the wind.

Lyrically told and gloriously illustrated, this story will inspire many as it shows how - even in the worst of times - a great idea and a lot of hard work can still rock the world.

Review Quotes

"[An] inspiring story of curiosity and ingenuity." -- Publishers Weekly

"This book will appeal to adults eager to impart an uplifting Third World human-interest story, but it is also sure to resonate with children who will simply love the curiosity, resilience and resourcefulness of this doughty African youth." -- Wall Street Journal

"A powerful, gorgeously illustrated children's picture book." -- The Boston Globe

"This is a dynamic portrait of a young person whose connection to the land, concern for his community, and drive to solve problems offer an inspiring model." -- School Library Journal

"Zunon illustrates handsomely, with contrasting cut-paper-collage details and broad, sere landscapes painted in visibly textured oils." -- Kirkus

"This picture book in accessible free verse will draw kids who love to construct their own engineering gadgets." -- Booklist

Cooperative Children's Book Center's 2013 Best-of-the-year list. -- CCBC

About the Author

William Kamkwamba (williamkamkwamba.typepad.com) currently attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Bryan Mealer (www.bryanmealer.com) lives in Brooklyn, New York. The original version of their Boy Who Harnessed the Wind was a New York Times Bestseller and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.

Bryan Mealer is the author of Muck City and the New York Times bestseller The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, which he wrote with William Kamkwamba. Since publication, the book has received many honors and has been translated into over a dozen languages. Mealer is also the author of All Things Must Fight to Live, which chronicled his years covering the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo for Harper's and the Associated Press. His forthcoming book, The Kings of Big Spring, a multi-generational saga about his family in West Texas, will be published by Flatiron Books in early 2018. He and his family live in Austin.

Elizabeth Zunon grew up in Ivory Coast, West Africa, and now lives in Albany, New York.