Buried Sunlight

Starred review from July 15, 2014
This fourth in Chisholm and Bang's series about the sun's relationship to life on Earth explores its ancient stores of fossil fuels and the effect of intense and rapid consumption of these in recent human history.The sun's first-person voice puts readers at the center: "Yes, living things-including YOU-need energy to stay alive and grow." The explanation begins with plants and moves concisely through photosynthesis and the use of the resulting carbon chains and animal production of carbon dioxide. Bang's edge-to-edge art in rich blues and greens is stippled with color suggesting, variously, energy in sunlight, microscopic life and the release of carbon gases. Reds and yellows convey the heat of the sun as well as that of cities and deserts. This lively diagram of the relationships among plant and animal, sunlight, CO2 production and the Earth's "blanket" of atmosphere is pitched to somewhat older readers than the earlier books. The result of the relatively sudden excess of CO2 on what was formerly an ebb and flow of warmth and cooling is direct. " 'SO WHAT?' some people say. / SO THIS: " precedes the description of how and why more heat is trapped under the Earth's blanket and what climate changes are now being seen. Abundant backmatter provides a more detailed explanation of the science introduced earlier.Gorgeous illustrations and impressive, urgent scientific explanation. (Nonfiction.7-12)

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July 1, 2014

Gr 2-4-The sun narrates this book about the slow creation but relatively quick depletion of fossil fuels, or "buried sunlight." Sounding like a father advising a child, the sun explains that while the Earth has always undergone periods of heating and cooling, those changes happened gradually, giving time for the species inhabiting the planet to adjust. Now humankind is burning-literally-through fossil fuels at such a pace that an extraordinary amount of carbon dioxide has been released within a few hundred years, heating up the atmosphere at a very rapid rate. Unless we find ways to use fossil fuels more discriminately and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide enveloping the earth, the climate will continue to destabilize with increasingly serious consequences. The sun ends by saying, "The choice is yours." While the audience deserves a straightforward discussion of environmental issues, a statement like this, especially when made to children, should be followed by empowering suggestions for action. A concluding section elaborates on points made in the main text, but the solutions listed-solar energy, nuclear energy-are beyond the reach of kids. Other than this criticism, the book is a solid resource of digestible information about our planet's past, present, and future. Bang's beautiful illustrations have a folk-art style and are saturated with deep blues and rich greens. An important, thought-provoking look at the growing environmental crisis.-Alyson Low, Fayetteville Public Library, AR

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2014
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* This handsome picture book opens with a cutaway view of the earth showing buried fossil fuels (coal, gas, and oil) as glowing bits of buried sunlight, while above ground, electric lights illuminate cities, and stars blaze in the night sky. The sun addresses readers, explaining photosynthesis and how a slight imbalance in the cycle of life on earth led to the formation of oxygen in the water and air as well as fossil fuels buried under land and sea. After describing the formation of those fuels over many millions of years, the sun reflects on how the burning of that buried sunlight over a few hundred years has put more carbon dioxide into earth's atmosphere and, increasingly, warmed its land and seas. Six appended pages offer more detail on the topics presented. As in the Living Sunlight (2009) and Ocean Sunlight (2012), Bang's expertise and creativity in making picture books are well matched with Chisholm's solid grasp of science. Every element in the complex, beautiful illustrations supports the informative text, which offers a welcome, long-term perspective on the subject. Combining an amiable voice with unusual breadth of vision, depth of knowledge, and subtlety of presentation, this is a masterful book in a highly original science series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)