The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
by William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer
illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon
Growing up in a poor Malawi village, fourteen-year-old William lived without electricity as well as other resources many of us take for granted. When a drought hit his village, food and money became scarce. Forced to leave school, William began to visit the local library. Through books, he was able to learn more about how things worked, including how a windmill could help bring electricity and water to his village. Without the money or materials for a windmill, William was able to salvage materials from the village junkyard to build his country's first windmill, bringing electricity to his village for the first time.
This biography is a wonderful tool for teaching about wind energy as well as how life is in other cultures. I recently used this book to teach several classes about how some countries do not have many of the conveniences that we do and also discussed the use of wind as an energy source.
Author's website: http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/
Related video: This video includes interviews with William's family and others from his village.
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