William Kamkwamba is surrounded by a crowd of people from his community, eagerly watching him start his windmill for the first time. He climbs to the top and frees the blades, which then begin to spin. William prays for the windmill to work, and then the bulb in his hand sparks with electric light. The crowd is excited.

William Kamkwamba begins the first chapter by recounting a story from when he was six years old. Some boys had come through the village where his family lived and farmed, and they gave him stolen gum. He comes to believe that the gum is poisoned, and thinks that he will suffer. He tells his father the truth about eating the gum, and his father goes to pay the trader for the stolen treat, convincing William that the curse has been lifted. William then discovers that his father didn’t think the gum was poisoned at all.

William shares a number of stories that describe interactions between humans and animals and magic. He talks about how a wizard once saved a man from a deadly cobra bite and how a magical hunter defeated a giant black rhino.