The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Children's Literature In his village in Malawi, young William is a dreamer. When drought brings hunger and no money for school, William goes to the library, where he learns that windmills can produce electricity and pump water. Determined to build one, he collects discarded pieces of junk here and there, while people call him crazy. Amazingly, the machine he puts together produces enough electricity to light a bulb. With other, more sophisticated windmills, the people find they can pump enough water to irrigate their dry fields and stave off hunger. Cut paper and oil paints depict the Malawi landscape and population. The cut papers in particular define the clothes, the growing maize, and the machine parts. The curves of the papers used to represent the winds from the large fan blades are particularly attractive. Large pages and imaginative page design effectively visualize this simple, uplifting tale. A note adds factual background information. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

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