We Carry the Sun
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Newbery Medalist Tae Keller’s debut picture book is a resplendent account of humankind’s relationship with our most precious resource: the sun.
From the first human settlements to today’s modern metropolises, we have always relied on the sun for light, energy, and sustenance. We Carry the Sun traces the history of solar power from ancient south-facing villages to the Industrial Age and modern innovators; and from solar-powered steam engines to silicon solar panels.
Lyrical and informed, Newbery Medal winner Tae Keller’s debut picture book is also a timely call to action that asks young readers to imagine a brighter, cleaner future. Illuminated by Rachel Wada’s radiant, eye-catching illustrations, We Carry the Sun is a tribute to pioneering thinkers, a celebration of humankind’s relationships with the natural world, and a shimmering ode to the resource that sustains us.
⭐️ “Full-bleed illustrations, both informative (such as the depiction of the first solar home) and bold (as shown in the extraction of oil), enhance Keller’s compelling, poetic text in this, her first nonfiction picture book. Wada’s use of light (symbolically bursting across the pages as ideas are born) and dark (showing pollution and stagnation) further complements the narrative.”
—Horn Book, starred review
“Ideas of collective imagination and community resilience are threaded throughout the text, purposefully including non-European scientific endeavors and extending to climate activists in current day . . . Readers of any age will be caught up in Wada’s truly breathtaking art, every spread a blaze of light-evoking color as curved refractions and radiating rays demand viewers’ attention . . . Pointed and inclusive, this will be galvanizing for kids beginning to understand the full range of powers (scientific and political) in the world around them.”
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books’
“Pages highlight innovators harnessing the sun’s energy across time—a teacher using a solar mirror to power a steam engine, a parent warming her baby’s bath in the sun, and more, each person advancing the science one step further. Short, telegraphic lines capture with force the powers keeping renewable energy from supplanting fossil fuels: “Oil companies prey/ on human weakness/ and pay politicians.” Boldly outlined full-bleed portraits of inventors and technology by Wada (I Am Wind) represent brilliant sunlight, incorporating golden rays, halos, and sunspots. More than a resource about the history of solar energy, it’s also a look at stepwise progress made by standing on the shoulders of those who have come before.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The text is engaging, and the imaginative, colorful, and often dramatic artwork will draw readers to this informative picture book.”
—Booklist