My Light: How Sunlight Becomes Electricity

by Molly Bang

Book Overview

Caldecott Honor artist Molly Bang celebrates the many wonders of the sun, with radiant words and images that illuminate the myriad ways in which the sun gives us energy and power from its light.

Often taken for granted, the sun gives us more than its light. Here, acclaimed author and illustrator Molly Bang presents a celebration of the wonder and power of the sun and its radiance. With dazzling paintings and a simple poetic text, MY LIGHT follows...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 043948961X
• ISBN13: 9780439489614
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Blue Sky Press (AZ)
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 9.3" x 11.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

A Book That Shines

I have always found science to be a poetic subject as well as a way of organizing our knowledge of the universe, and Molly Bang obviously feels the same way. This is one of the most gorgeous books I've ever seen, bringing a spirit of poetry and even majesty to the science of sunlight. Ms. Bang takes on a mighty task in a mere 32 pages, but then, there is a dearth of science writing for children that communicates knowledge in broad strokes. As a teacher, I know the school system tends to teach little bits and pieces of information, assuming students will be able to connect those scraps of knowledge as they go along. Instead, many children continue to carry the bits and pieces around in a loose jangle, like change in the pockets of their jeans. I hope more science-minded writers and illustrators will assist young readers in giving seemingly disparate ideas a context. They'll be hard-pressed to do it as beautifully as Molly Bang does in My Light.

Molly Bang ala Peter Sis' style

If you ever want to freak a kid out (or, in more professional terms, cause a kid to think in a constructive manner) ask them to consider what life would be like without electricity. After some considerations of this awful possibility the child you speak to may have a newfound appreciation for something he or she has always taken for granted before. But where does electricity really come from? How is it made? Author/illustrator Molly Bang has made a graceful departure from her adorable fiction based picture books into that nebulous territory known as non-fiction. "My Light" shows the myriad ways in which our own dear Sun has created (either directly or indirectly) the energy we use in our very light bulbs. Says the Sun at the beginning of the book, "When you see the city lights at night, they look like stars have fallen down to earth". That, the sun points out, is a pretty smart assessment. After all, the Sun is a star and almost all the electric light in the world began with it. To explain how this works we are privy to various displays of energy, transferred to earth in multiple ways. One section discusses how the sun causes water to evaporate, rain, fall into rivers, and eventually operate the dams that create energy via generators. Too complex an idea? What about the fact that the sun causes warm air to rise so that cooler air operates the giant electric turbines of the world? And don't forget that coal was once living trees that needed the sun for their growth. Heck, solar power itself is explored in this book too, giving kids a clear vision of solar cells. Tying together the theme of continually shifting energy, the book ends by pointing out that all light, even electric ones, eventually fade back into space in some way. The back of the book contains additional information about the various topics touched on, giving more details on the various types of electricity available to us. It is here that Bang mentions that in her original conception of this book she had some many notes that they, "started turning into an encyclopedia". For kids doing science projects on electricity, Bang suggests that see these notes on her website at www.mollybang.com. Bang is to commended for these sections, if only because she offers ample explanations about which forms of energy are pollutants and which ones aren't. Moreover, you cannot say that Bang hasn't covered her bases in this book. Her facts, as presented in the text, are clear and easy for kids to understand. The book is also the author's most beautiful to date. Much like fellow author/illustrator Peter Sis, Bang has adopted a style of art that works perfectly within the context of her tale. The sun emits thousands of tiny yellow dots, all representing the energy that floats across space and to the Earth itself. By watching these yellow dots of energy, kids have a clear image of how they are transferred from the sun, to the water, to the rain, to the river, and finally into ele

Richie's Picks: MY LIGHT

Haven spoken with Molly Bang at a conference about MY LIGHT, I am familiar with her passion for the subject matter of this book. That passion has paid off, for MY LIGHT is the best overview to energy technologies in print today for elementary and middle school students. Accompanied by vivid and expansive illustrations that each cover a full two page spread, Molly Bang provides logical and understandable progressions linking solar radiation to hydro, wind, fossil fuels, and solar electric production. Four pages of more detailed information, linking to each of the spreads, is provided at the end.

My four year old loves this book

The illustrations are artistic and beautiful. My four year old loves to trace the flow of electricity from its generation to its use, and my two year old likes the pictures. The book may have simplified some scientific principles; nonetheless, it is educational and interesting. It has opened up some discussions about our family's use of energy -not bad for a children's book! For older readers, there is a good afterward which goes into more detail.