We are so thrilled to have Tavia Kowalchuk, Marketing Director for William Morrow, Eos and Cookbooks (imprints of HarperCollins Publishers) as a guest blogger today. Tavia is excited about the publication of the forthcoming title, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
Enjoy!
-Bobby
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The buzz is building for the soon-to-be-released THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND –the inspirational true story about an enterprising teenager in Malawi who built a windmill from scraps found around his village and brought electricity—and a future—to himself and his family.
William Kamkwamba, grew up poor in Malawi, Africa, a country suffering from poverty, famine, AIDS and lack of basic services like plumbing and electricity. When William was 14 and unable to attend school because his family couldn’t afford the $80 tuition, he began thinking a lot about electricity. After being given a book about windmills by his local librarian, he decided to build his own using scrap metal, tractor parts, and blue-gum trees, which grew near his village. William’s home-made contraption succeeded in supplying electricity to his family’s compound. You can click here to read an excerpt from his memoir before the book is on sale (September 29th), but in the meantime, here is an exclusive interview with the librarian in Malawi who gave William the book that changed his life.
Meet librarian Edith Sikelo. Mrs. Sikelo was sitting behind her desk at the library when William first walked in.
She quickly noticed his interest in science books and encouraged him to keep reading. His library card soon grew to several pages, which Sikelo now keeps to show visitors, and to brandish to younger students as an example of success.
Mrs. Sikelo was recently interviewed by Tom Rielly, Community Director of the TED Conference, a major party in promoting William’s story throughout the world.
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