No Wrong Answers, Just Pure Wonder: Inside the Advanced Readers’ Club
How The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind sparked imagination, connection, and joy at our Advanced Readers’ Club
We are currently reading The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba. It is the inspiring true story of William Kamkwamba, who grew up in the rural village of Wimbe, Malawi. When a devastating famine struck his community and forced him to drop out of school, fourteen-year-old William refused to give up on learning. Borrowing books from a small local library, he taught himself basic physics and engineering, scavenging scrap metal, bicycle parts, and blue-gum branches to build a functioning windmill that brought electricity and water to his village. Before he became an inventor, however, William was simply an intensely curious boy who loved tinkering, make-believe games, and building toy vehicles from whatever nature provided. William and his friends loved watching trucks roll by. Like children everywhere, they had a natural urge to pretend to be grown-ups, inventing make-believe worlds as part of their playtime. Perhaps they simply wanted the thrill of driving trucks of their own. Living in extreme poverty, however, placed severe constraints on their wishes; an actual toy car was beyond imagination. But when have limitations ever stopped a child from having fun?
Making connections between William's make believe games and our own
William and his friends set to work building a mini truck—much like the one captured in our AI-generated image above. As the children at the Advanced Readers' Club looked closely at the picture, they began picking out the different parts and materials. They were especially intrigued by the choice of wheels and the rugged dirt road. Without modern shock absorbers, it was easy to imagine what it felt like to rattle over every ditch and bump. Could the jolts have bothered them?" we wondered. Perhaps not, we thought—being tossed from side to side must have added to their giggles.
As we read further, we discovered that another truck was quickly pieced together with whatever scraps the boys could scavenge, and suddenly, it was time to race. To raise the stakes, one of them shouted the ultimate playground dare:
"Whoever reaches the barbershop last will become blind!"
We paused our reading right there just to savor the image of hurtling downhill on a contraption of sticks, vines, and makeshift wheels.
“Have you ever felt that kind of pure joy in your own make-believe games?”
That question opened the floodgates. The young readers chimed in with their own adventures. One memorable story came from a reader who recalled pretending to be an Olympic javelin thrower. He and his friends had gathered fallen branches near a tree—likely pruned and piled by a gardener. In the hands of imaginative children, of course, those sticks became world-class athletic gear! The tournament, however, came to an abrupt halt after a near-catastrophic throw almost clipped a passing motorist. Oops!
Other stories poured in: a reader who vividly remembered pretending to relish spicy food while stubbornly refusing to share a bite with her dolls; another who turned a Lego truck and tiny water bottles into an elaborate milk-delivery route.
Before we knew it, the discussion shifted from reminiscing to redesigning William’s truck:
"Is the branch hollow?"
"Could we make it float on water?"
"Does it have brakes? What happens if they lose control—would the driver flip over?"
Questions and ideas flew across the circle. The children loved William’s ingenuity, but they were equally moved by the spirit of teamwork among the boys—friends pooling scraps and effort to create one of the fondest memories of their childhood. There was no rivalry, just pure camaraderie, with everyone contributing whatever they could find.
We brought that exact spirit into our own session, redesigning William’s truck with new materials, fresh mechanics, and wild ideas. In an open space free of judgment, our imaginations took flight, setting everyone's cognitive wheels in motion.
The Guided Reading and Writing Club is designed for children in grades 3-5 to help bridge the gap between loving a story and crafting one.
The Advanced Readers' Club is a book club for the grades 5-9 — perfect for avid readers who love analyzing and discussing plots with other book enthusiasts.
The Young Writers' Club is a specialized writing program designed to transform teenagers from hesitant writers into confident writers and critical thinkers.
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