The author and his collaborator have condensed the original memoir of the same name, a story of an innovative and compassionate boy coming of age during an era of extreme hardship in Malawi.This newest incarnation of Kamkwamba's tale is as absorbing as its predecessor and still delivers with equanimity facts both disturbing and inspiring. Kamkwamba describes his early life in Masitala, a tiny rural village where, typically, large families of subsistence farmers lived in huts without electricity or running water. Until December 2000, Kamkwamba's life reads like an African parallel to the idyllic, early-20th-century scenes in Sterling North's Rascal: soccer with balls made from plastic bags; juicy mangoes and crunchy grasshoppers; storytelling by the light of a kerosene lamp; experiments with old radio parts; loyal friends and faithful pet. A perfect storm of deforestation, governmental changes, flooding and drought creates a sudden famine. The text does not spare readers the effects of starvation and grinding poverty on humans and animals. However, there are also many descriptions of how and why power-generating inventions work, and the passages about creating tools from almost nothing are reminiscent of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series. Against astounding odds, Kamkwamba's eventual creation of a windmill to bring lighting to his family's home is nothing short of amazing. Compelling and informative for a broad readership and a good addition to STEM collections. (map, prologue, photographs, epilogue, acknowledgments) (Memoir. 11-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 5-8-In the village of Wimbe, Malawi, Kamkwamba and his family, although poor, managed to get by on their farm until a catastrophic drought lead to crop failure. The family comes very close to starving, and this autobiographical work, supported by Korey Jackson's noteworthy narration, gives listeners a real sense of their struggle to survive. After the drought ends, Kamkwamba vows to never again experience such a dire threat to his family's survival. Despite the fact that he is unable to continue his secondary education owing to his family's inability to pay the fees, Kamkwamba, curious and questioning, especially about how things work, educates himself by borrowing old books from a small local library. One day, he reads about harnessing wind energy and power generation. The authors describe in detail the steps Kamkwamba takes to build an electric wind contraption-a windmill. He does this in the face of much local ridicule. A nice inclusion is the mention made of the support and encouragement of two friends. Kamkwamba eventually succeeds in bringing electricity to his house and the village, to the amazement of the village and the rest of the world. VERDICT An inspiring true story of achievement against all odds.-Mary -Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

As a young boy growing up in Malawi, William Kamkwamba believed in -- and was fearful of -- magic. As he got a bit older, he was drawn to science. He tinkered with toy trucks and "monster wagons" ("chigiriri, that looked like American go-carts") and began reading old science books and dreaming up inventions. When heavy rains, followed by drought, hit his country and the corrupt government didn't respond, young William used his scientific ingenuity to help people in need. He began making a windmill out of "bottle-cap washers, rusted tractor parts, and [an] old bicycle frame," and, to the amazement of family and community, it was a success. Soon he dreamed of conquering darkness, pumping water to the villages, and fighting hunger. This young readers' edition of the bestselling adult memoir The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope (already adapted as a picture book by the same name) has been simplified for a middle-grade audience, unfortunately losing some of the lyricism of the original. (Chapter one in the adult version opens, "Before I discovered the miracles of science, magic ruled the world." Chapter one here begins, "My name is William Kamkwamba, and to understand the story I'm about to tell, you must first understand the country that raised me.") Both versions have a straightforward narrative arc: because of the book's prologue, readers know that William's wind machine will be successful and that they, the readers, are to be inspired. And it is inspiring -- a well-told true tale of one young man's passion for science making his world better. dean schneider (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

By now, Kamkwamba's story about his ingenious windmill is well-known his 2009 memoir was a New York Times best-seller and this young reader's edition of that memoir brings his story to a middle-grade audience. It's a good fit, especially since, at 14, Kamkwamba was not much older than his target age group when he set out to build electric wind. After a devastating famine kept him out of school, he taught himself electrical engineering, and equipped with insatiable curiosity and ample brains Kamkwamba succeeded in building a windmill out of junk and found materials to electrify his home. Though some of the descriptions of the electrical components might go over the heads of most middle-grade readers, his inspirational story about determination and a deep love for science will nonetheless strike a chord with aspiring inventors, and the stark descriptions of famine-stricken Malawi will open young readers' eyes to the hard realities of life in a Third World country. Many kids will find a kindred spirit in Kamkwamba.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2014 Booklist