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Reviews tagging 'Animal death'
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba
17 reviews
patwebb88's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was informative into how they live in a third world country that is not as developed; makes you grateful for what we have. It was sad in some places as is reality. Also inspired me to not give up on my dreams.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Death
itsgs's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
maryhannawilson's review against another edition
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
The young reader's version of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind was a fantastic choice for my middle school book club. The story begins in William Kamkwamba's tiny village in Malawi where the community is suffering from a horrible famine. William is determined to find a way to break the cycle by bringing electricity to his village. By using the textbooks available in his village library and spare parts at the junkyard, William accomplishes his dream and brings "electric wind" to his village.
This uplifting and exciting memoir shows how one person can influence positive change for those around them. I particularly enjoyed how we followed William with each step of his journey and learned how things worked alongside him. There were quite a few scientific explanations along the way which could be confusing or fascinating depending on your interests. The book would work very well as a literature addition to a physical science class studying electricity.
NOTE: Parents should know that the description of the famine and its impact on the village is very difficult to read. In addition, William leaves his dog to starve in the woods to end his suffering. The dog dies and the situation could be difficult for younger or more sensitive readers.
This uplifting and exciting memoir shows how one person can influence positive change for those around them. I particularly enjoyed how we followed William with each step of his journey and learned how things worked alongside him. There were quite a few scientific explanations along the way which could be confusing or fascinating depending on your interests. The book would work very well as a literature addition to a physical science class studying electricity.
NOTE: Parents should know that the description of the famine and its impact on the village is very difficult to read. In addition, William leaves his dog to starve in the woods to end his suffering. The dog dies and the situation could be difficult for younger or more sensitive readers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
malmark's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Animal death, and Classism
sassmistress's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.5
This review is only applicable to the YOUNG READERS EDITION. I understand the original publication may have a few additional content concerns.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Gore
Moderate: Child death, Classism, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Excrement, Pandemic/Epidemic, Vomit, Alcohol, 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
katierosecrane's review
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
There are some slower parts in the book, but gosh this book is so inspiring, amazing, and sad. It is an emotional roller coaster where you will root for the MC throughout the book. Beautiful ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
leweylibrary's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.25
The beginning was quite slow for me and there's a couple of spots with a dog that are just not fun--one of which is absolutely gutting--but I learned a lot and holy crap how impressive is it that he did all that just on his own? Plus, of course, lots of library love because access to books there, even old discarded textbooks, allowed him to learn about something he was curious about while he couldn't afford to go to school. I'm really curious where and what he is up to now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
amisk23's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death