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tanyarobinson 's review for:
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition
by William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer
What an inspiration! This story, adapted for young readers, tells how William Kamkwamba, a young Malawian boy, used his creativity and initiative to lift his family - and others - out of poverty. When a nationwide famine made it impossible for his father to afford his school fees, William found knowledge in the tiny local library. With ideas and concepts he read about in science books, he started scavenging mechanical and electrical parts, and at 13 years old build an improvised windmill that produced electricity. Word spread, William gained mentors and sponsors, and eventually graduated from Dartmouth. He now works to improve life in Africa through basic technologies.
I loved his last paragraph: "Often people with the best ideas face the greatest challenges -- their country at war; a lack of money or education or the support of those around them. But like me, they choose to stay focused because that dream -- as far away as it seems -- is the truest and most hopeful thing they have. Think of your dreams and ideas as tiny miracle machines inside you that no one can touch. The more faith you put into them, the bigger they get, until one day they'll rise up and take you with them."
I loved his last paragraph: "Often people with the best ideas face the greatest challenges -- their country at war; a lack of money or education or the support of those around them. But like me, they choose to stay focused because that dream -- as far away as it seems -- is the truest and most hopeful thing they have. Think of your dreams and ideas as tiny miracle machines inside you that no one can touch. The more faith you put into them, the bigger they get, until one day they'll rise up and take you with them."