hosted today by Capstone Connect
(pub. 1.19. 2012) 32 pages
A True Tale with A Cherry On Top
A uthor: William Kamkwamba
and Bryan Mealer
and Illustrator: Elizabeth Zunon
C haracter: William Kamkwamba
O verview from the jacket flap:
T antalizing taste:
"Heroes can be any age. When William Kamkwamba was fourteen years old, living in a drought-ravaged area of Malawi in Africa, he pursued a dream that brought electricity and running water to his desperately poor village.
William had always been interested in how mechanical things work, and after poring over old science textbooks, painstakingly teaching himself English so that he could understand them, he became determined to build a windmill [that would bring] electricity to his home and eventually life-saving water to his village.
Lyrically told and gloriously illustrated, Williams' story shows how - no matter how young you are or how huge the challenge - creativity, determination, and hard work can help save your world."
William had always been interested in how mechanical things work, and after poring over old science textbooks, painstakingly teaching himself English so that he could understand them, he became determined to build a windmill [that would bring] electricity to his home and eventually life-saving water to his village.
Lyrically told and gloriously illustrated, Williams' story shows how - no matter how young you are or how huge the challenge - creativity, determination, and hard work can help save your world."
"He dreamed of building things and taking them apart,
like the trucks with bottle-cap wheels parked under his bed
and pieces of radios that he'd crack open and wonder,
If I can hear the music, then where is the band?"
and something more: For the first book honoring Black History Month, I chose The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind because it's illustrated by Liz Zunon, the incredible artist who illustrated the book I wrote, My Hands Sing the Blues - Romare Bearden's Childhood Journey. Liz again creates evocative art using oil paint and cut paper collages. Although it's difficult to choose, one of my favorite illustrations in this book is the page that's similar to the cover. But instead of showing the boy with eyes open on a bright day with the functioning windmill as on the cover, this illustration shares the moment when William, with his eyes gently closed, imagines the possibility of the swirling windmill "pulling electricity from the breeze and bringing light to the dark valley." So beautiful!
Visit Liz's website to see a photo of children in Malawi, William's village, holding books sent to them by Pearson's We Give Books Campaign.
This past Saturday, Liz participated in the The 20th Annual African American Children's Book Fair in Philadelphia with a host of other amazing authors and illustrators.
