Solar Story

February 1, 2020
Having examined aspects of sustainable living in Pedal Power (2017) and earlier titles, Drummond now turns to the world's largest solar power plant. Every day, Nadia, Jasmine, and their classmates walk under the Moroccan sun to their school on the edge of the Sahara. A class field trip to the Noor power plant gives the kids the opportunity to think about both global sustainability and "what...the solar plant [is] doing for us, right here, in our village." Loose lines and cheery watercolors are equally deft at describing energetic, ebullient kids and the vast power plant, "the size of 3,500 soccer fields." Jasmine, who wears a yellow hijab, narrates, her clear, convincing voice evincing curiosity and enthusiasm, while speech balloons allow her classmates to interject: "Look! There's Naima's mom," one says, spotting a classmate's mother in the power-plant control room. Jasmine notes that the plant has brought benefits to her community, but in fits and starts: Construction workers now put skills to use as entrepreneurs, but the school doesn't have internet yet. Sidebars provide further information on the region, the plant, and sustainability, ably complementing the text. In his author's note, Drummond confesses that his "surprise" at learning that the world's biggest power plant is not "in a highly developed country" is "evidence of my own cultural shortsightedness," but he's rallied to produce a surprisingly complex yet accessible exploration. A valuable look at sustainability and development. (bibliography) (Picture book. 5-10)

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March 9, 2020
Rural Ghassate, Morocco—“in the top left-hand corner of the map of Africa” between the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert—has a mighty neighbor: the Noor power plant, the largest “concentrated solar power plant in the world.” In kinetic, loose-lined illustrations washed with sunbaked hues, a group of classmates explores and explains topics including solar power, sustainability, and community development. The class visit to the plant frames statistics useful to young readers—it is “the size of 3,500 soccer fields, and contains 660,000 mirrors”—while lengthy sidebars dive into deeper discussions of Morocco, the plant, and its multidimensional impacts on sustainability. Drummond’s author’s note relates that he visited a school in Ghassate, which sparked the idea for this framing and, despite his initial “cultural shortsightedness” about the plant’s placement (“not... in a highly developed country like the United States”), taught him that “solutions... can be found everywhere and require a global perspective.” Ages 4–8.

March 1, 2020
Grades K-3 Where is the world's largest solar energy plant? It's in the northwest Sahara desert, near the small Moroccan community where this story opens. Jasmine and her friend Nadia walk to school, where Miss Abdellam leads their class in a discussion of solar power. Later, passing construction sites as she walks home to her family's farm, Jasmine reflects that, though they still cook over an open fire, many changes are coming. After a class field trip to the Noor solar power plant, Jasmine and Nadia talk more about the many meanings of sustainability. An English writer/illustrator, Drummond began his series of environmentally themed picture books with Energy Island (2011), Green City (2016), and Pedal Power (2017). While the first-person narrative is fictionalized, it's very effective in exploring ideas about solar power as a path toward a sustainable future. Sidebars and a photo-illustrated author's note provide plenty of relevant information, while the fresh line-and-wash illustrations will help viewers envision Jasmine's home, her school, and the solar facility. This inviting picture book offers a forward-looking introduction to renewable energy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)