Maina, A Talented African Village Boy by Lilly Wambui

The author, Wambui, is now 13 years old. She wrote this book last year, 2020, at the age of 12. She used the free time during the long school break due to the world-pandemic to write the story. This is a true story based on an inspiration from a talented village boy that used to play with toys at Wambui’s grandma’s place.  This is an ideal gift to children who are 9-15 years old. The amazing story, with relevant illustrations, has been written to help young minds use scarce resources to innovate and build some incredible objects.

Maina, the boy in this book, is a brilliant and talented village boy who grew up with my grand parents at the foot of the Aberdare Ranges in central Kenya. He learnt to speak fast and even started building toys using plastic waste materials. He learnt a lot from my uncle who walked with him around the farm where cows and bulls were grazing. He also sat with my grand parents in the evenings and was taught a lot of things through story telling. For a number of years, Maina wished he could visit his cousins in the capital city, Nairobi. One day his mother surprised him with the long awaited visit. I hope you enjoy this interesting story.