Reflection Paper on “The Boy who harnessed the wind”

Introduction

The story of William Kamkwamba, who at age 14 built a windmill powerful enough to run lights and water pumps for his poor village in Malawi out of a bicycle generator and other scraps, is well known and yet it still continues to amaze. He was forced to quit school because of a drought that caused his family's crops to fail, Kamkwamba taught himself the principles of electric generation using only some English-language library books and a translating dictionary. The equal amazing fact that this boy, who had never seen a computer, was discovered by journalists and invited to speak at a TED conference, which led to world-wide recognition of his accomplishments and goals. Therefore, all the issues related to the story of the “Boy who harnessed the wind” will be discussed in detail.

Discussion

There were several happy supporters who helped Kamkwamba return to school, and he is currently a student at Dartmouth College. Kamkwamba has told his story in the book “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope with co-author Bryan Mealer”. Now the authors have turned that book into a picture book for kids. The children's version of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind features illustrations by Elizabeth Zunon that perfectly balance this inspiring story and bring it to life. Though told in simple language, the story is clear and engrossing. While many people have not yet read the adult version, but for many, authors' greatest achievements is the way they managed to re-tell the story in a way young readers can understand and process without feeling overwhelmed. The language, and the feeling, is poetic, a true storyteller's voice. Zunon's illustrations use a combination of painting and collage in a natural and yet colorful ...