A Ray of Light: a book of science and wonder by Walter Wick. 40 p. Scholastic Press, Scholastic Inc., February, 2019. 97804391655877. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)
Happy Friday TMS Readers! If you're a fan of Walter Wick's "I Spy" series, as I am, you will be intrigued by our Fact Friday feature. Wick took his formidable photography skills to illustrate scientific concepts. He did it a few years ago with the book, A Drop of Water. His newest project is called, A Ray of Light: a book of science and wonder. Everything you want to know about incandescence, iridescence, the color spectrum, magnification, refraction and more is explained briefly and illustrated with remarkably beautiful photographs. Back matter provides more in-depth explanations of the concepts.
This is a book that requires more than one close reading. Some of the concepts are quite hard to wrap one's mind around! Give your science teachers a heads up about this one. A Ray of Light is a first-purchase for any STEM collection.
You are Light by Aaron Becker. unpgd board book. Candlewick Studio/ Candlewick Press, March 26, 2019. 9781536201154. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)
Startling in its simplicity, You are Light is a unique concept book that can be read on many levels. Toddlers will be charmed by the soothing text, clean design, die-cuts and color surprises. It's the perfect lap book, a bedtime story to bathe a little one in affirmation and love before slumber. Older readers will be intrigued by the impressionistic lessons about evaporation and photosynthesis. It is also meditative, encouraging all readers to embrace interconnectivity.
You are Light is a conversation-starter in an elementary class about empathy. It's a perfect baby gift. I'm gifting a copy to a favorite yoga teacher who is starting her own studio for the book evokes the phrase, namaste, which has been explained to me as, "the light in me sees and honors the light in you." This book made me sigh with happiness.
Buried Sunlight: how fossil fuels have changed the Earth by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm. unpgd. Blue Sky Press/ Scholastic Inc., September, 2014. 9780545577854. (Finished copy courtesy of publisher for review)
Do you need help explaining what fossil fuels are formed and how human consumption is not only outstripping creation but burning a hole in the ozone layer? Look no further than this gorgeous picture book for older readers. It's absolutely gorgeous and absolutely understandable. I know I had to answer questions about photosynthesis on standardized tests way back when and, until my spectacular advanced biology teacher explained it in a way I could understand, I never got it. I wish this book was around then.
The sun is our narrator here. It took millions of years for the Earth to create the oxygen necessary for living things to survive. Tiny bacteria evolved into sea plants, plants that tiny sea animals could eat. Animals and plants eventually moved to land when there was enough oxygen in the air to support them. Over millions and millions of years, the dead plants and animals were buried deeper and deeper into the earth where, eventually, they changed into oil, coal and gas. In the two hundred years since humans have been industrialized, not only are fossil fuels being depleted, but the excess CO2 is burning a hole in the ozone layer and causing global temperatures to increase.
The palette is dominated by rich greens and blues and the folk style make the illustrations accessible and pleasing. Six pages of notes conclude the book with further explanations of the science and energy alternatives, making this a perfect picture book for slightly older readers. Teachers will definitely want to consider using it (and its companions, Ocean Sunlight and Living Sunlight) to introduce a unit in science or the environment.
