Tae Keller, Newbery Medalist for When You Trap a Tiger (2020), presents a glowing first picture book, We Carry the Sun, dazzlingly illustrated by Rachel Wada (From the Tops of the Trees). "This is the story of sunlight," Keller's preface opens, and "this is the story of us, too--how we reached into the sky and carried the sun home."
Four billion years after the sun's birth, some 6,000 years ago, "we humans" nurtured an idea: to harness the sun's warmth for our homes. But the bright rays weren't enough. Fast forward to the 1800s, when coal burns, "poisoning our planet in the process--but we don't know that yet." Thankfully, innovators persistently continue to explore the sun's potential: Augustin Mouchot's solar steam engine, Charles Fritts's first solar panel, Maria Telkes and Eleanor Raymond's solar heating, Rina and Levi Yissar's solar water heater. Yet "instead of looking up, we look down," relying on coal, gas, and other fossil fuels. "We hurt the earth. We hurt each other." Global leaders--supported by Earth's protectors--respond by prioritizing solar energy: "We reached into the sky and carried the sun home."
Keller remarkably condenses vast history into succinct summaries, while deftly clarifying complex ideas. The appended "Solar Energy Timeline" underscores the impressive breadth of distilled information. Wada's energetic spreads, gloriously favoring earth tones, seem to extend beyond the pages, her consistent addition of sunbursts and sunbeams throughout reflecting the potential for unlimited power. Keller impressively balances human ingenuity with arrogant destruction, yet concludes with encouraging hope: "and what if we could do more?" --Terry Hong