Reviews tagging 'Animal death'
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition by William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer
13 reviews
ecthompson's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Animal death
sassmistress's review
4.5
I loved this book! It's an inspiring, informational autobiography of a young Malawian inventor that beautifully captures the African spirit. "Where the world sees trash, Africa recycles. Where the world sees junk, Africa sees rebirth." Thank you to everyone who recommended it for our Africa unit study this year; it checks so many of my boxes--rural life, city life, biography, African author, hopeful bent...! As a tech person, I also adore the passionate "you can do STEM as a kid with what you have" message. I also love the implicit acknowledgement that he didn't do it alone, by showing all the ways he was supported by his friends and family (even if he got a little puffed up from time to time).
Target audience: The author is very passionate about the technology he's learned about, so there are a number of (very accessible) explanations of things he figured out how to fix or build from scratch, including his windmill, a light switch, circuit breaker, AC vs DC current, radios, batteries, and many other topics mostly in the category of electrical engineering. Because of this and lengthy descriptions of a severe and tragic famine his family survived, I would guess this is appropriate for middle school or older. I have young children so I can't gauge this well, but Amazon says as low as 5th grade.
Graphic: Animal death and Gore
Moderate: Classism, Death, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic, Vomit, Bullying, Alcoholism, Excrement, and Medical content
- The narrator describes local beliefs and customs regarding "witch doctors" and "wizards", but they are portrayed as charlatans. A few stories are told about the rumors people tell about curses and cures, and the narrator in his childhood had someone cut his skin and put a "potion" on it to give him superhuman strength, then realizes he's been had when he starts and loses a fight.- Other spiritual content: the narrator's father is a Presbyterian minister. A habit of going to church is mentioned once. I count four instances of "my God" used as an exclamation equivalent to "wow". Other mentions of God are: "with God on your side, [the wizards] have no power against you," "God has blessed you," "it was as if God was rewarding us for our sacrifice," a heartfelt "I pray God blesses them all," and a one-line explanation of the Noah story when saying his family nicknamed him Noah--"everyone laughed at Noah, but look what happened."
- A number of chapters are dedicated to the 2001 famine in Malawi. This includes mass starvation and all that entails--large crowds begging, babies crying and mothers begging for anything to feed them, people eating what is normally not considered edible, some theft and a crowd panic at a distribution location, detailed descriptions of the physical effects of death by starvation, people dying by the roadside.
- Brief mention of men who waste their lives away taking small jobs to pay for a night of drinking alcohol.
- There's an explanation of the deforestation happening in Malawi, what it does to the rest of the country's environment, and how it affects the health of the people living in the region.
- In case anyone has a problem with insects, there are a few swarms depicted. Botflies coming out of a latrine (when describing a diarrheal disease outbreak), termites destroying a roof and landing all over the boy's bedroom, and ants on the swollen tongue of a dead animal.
- There is a dog
Spoiler
death. The dog slowly starves until the boy is told to put him out of his misery. The dog is tied to a tree overnight and gives up and dies after seeing the boy Wali away.katierosecrane's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
leweylibrary's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
amisk23's review against another edition
2.5
Moderate: Animal death
sarahjsnider's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal death
skyllarduncan's review against another edition
4.5
Spoiler
Yes, I cried when the dog died.Graphic: Death and Animal death
100_pages_hr's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, and Death
jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
4.0
Eventually the famine does start to ease and William begins visiting the library regularly. He finds a couple of physics books and becomes fascinated with the idea of wind power. He looks around his village, collects mechanical “junk,” and starts to literally build a better life for his family and his village.
What an inspirational story! William and his family have almost nothing by Western standards but they do have each other. William has dreams and the willingness to teach himself and try. That takes him farther than he could even imagine.
The part describing the famine was extremely difficult to read. People starve on the roadsides. Pets must fend for themselves or die. No one can think about anything except hunger. Corrupt politicians make the situation so much worse than it had to be. Government thugs punish local leaders who speak out against the corruption. It’s an unimaginable situation. This section takes up about half the book, so readers who are sensitive to these kinds of things might want to steer clear. It feels important to read though because most Westerners truly can’t conceive of what a famine is like. I know I have a better appreciation now for my local grocery stores and farmers markets.
William persists in his dreams and his self-education despite all the adversity he faces. He truly believes he can make a difference and make life easier for his family. He patiently collects what he needs and one of his best friends, the village chief’s son, believes in William enough to give him the money for parts he has to buy. We don’t all have William’s ingenuity, but we can all help dreamers, even if it’s just by having faith in them.
The edition of the book that I read had an afterward to update us on William’s life as of 2016. He’s come so far and invented so many things that make life easier for innumerable people. I’m proud of a man I’ve never even met. He proves that one person can make a difference to a lot of people. He’s also quick to point out that a lot of benefactors have helped him on his path, proving again that we can all contribute in some way to building a better world.
Some of the content is going to be difficult for some readers but ultimately, this book is brimming with hope and the affirmation that one person can change the world. Highly recommended.
Moderate: Death, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
meaganbrooks's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Death