WE CARRY THE SUN: Carry This Picture Book Home!

 

NORTON YOUNG READERS, 2025

Award-winning author Tae Keller's narrative talent is paired with luminous and thought-expanding illustrations by Rachel Wada in a gorgeous new picture book about... SOLAR POWER! Before assuming any preconceived opinions about current issues and attitudes regarding solar technology, read this, please. WE CARRY THE SUN is an examination of the all-important place of the sun in our human (and planetary) lives. Launched by intensely golden endpapers, the title page takes readers of any age back to those moments in which we view the sun's brilliance through tree tops. It entices us to stare but demands a raised hand to mitigate its intensity. The sun's incredible power to improve and enlighten our lives is captured in that image, while the title emphasizes the ironic reality that the power of the sun is both out of reach and immediately accessible. 

While this text describes advancing technology, it launches readers into the reality that the sun (which preceded even the formation of our planet) as essential to life. It became a concept in human lives only about six thousand years ago. The language in which this account unfolds  encourages readers to pair their lived experiences with those of the earliest humans just as they lift their faces to the radiant, warming sun. 

Within that same spread, questions arise. Could that natural warmth make its way into homes? Could the daily  and yearly arcs of the sun help predict lives through habits, temperatures, season, and migrations? Thousands of years of humanity's dependence on the sun for warmth and light quickly proceed to recent centuries in which fossil fuels provide some man-made benefits of the sun-- light and heat. Awareness of pollution is home/locale centered (soot and breathing issues), though some thinkers of that era realized that the wider community and planet could suffer as well. Even so, the central concern of the time was the possibility of running out of coal or oil. 

A series of less-that-famous thinkers have their pursuits described, from Augustin Mouchot's studies and experiments with heat traps for the sun and burning mirrors (used centuries earlier in China). A few decades later Charles Fritts explores those ideas further and finds ways to turn sun's light into electric current: the first solar panel! Then Bostonian engineer Aubrey Eneas moves to California for better access to sun and combines solar electric study with an ostrich farm!

Now you certainly must get the idea. Regardless of what you may have known about solar energy and technology, this exploration will take you to untraveled stories of those who contributed to technologies and innovation. Like Marie Telcos and Eleanor Raymond who together designed solar-efficient buildings. To israel where solar water heaters began with a black-painted outdoor tub to bathe a dirty child in warm water.

Even as the contributors continue their travels through time and the pages of this book, the illustrations incorporate lighting that mirrors the opening's glowing outline of the sun on a child's hand. The sun's light lifts, defines, and inspires humans.

As oil and other fossil fuels become more readily accessible (and profitable), the shift to sun as a resource is sidetracked, but not totally. A globe-spanning account of men and women see the need for clean, safe, efficient fuel. Their pursuits bring solar energy to tiny watches and computers and on into space travel, building design, and more. When voices of Earth-awareness advocates gain volume, ideas strengthen and extend to countries throughout the world.

The informative narrative is simple and direct, woven with lyrical phrasing and inspiring questions for readers, resolving as it began with the ultimate challenge: 

"What if we could do even more?"

The text and illustrations allow readers of all genders, ethnicities, locations, ages, and interests to find themselves within that challenge. The author note reveals that she began by wondering "who invented solar panels?". That led to this effectively broad account of various contributors to solar power discoveries and developments. Her note repeats a message I appreciated as subtly conveyed through the main text: every individual can contribute. It is essential that we do, and she provides simple ideas we can all do every day. That author note alone is worth reading aloud to kids and adults. A timeline of SUN power in human history takes two pages and back matter includes other resources for those who want to pursue more details. 

With that summary, it should be obvious that my praise for this nonfiction offering is at the highest level. Not only does the content provide accessible, exciting, and inspiring insights into what we too often dismiss or debate as as "solar power" alternatives. It uplifts our human curiosity and capacity to improve lives for our immediate needs and for future generations. A school-age child enjoying this book could well find toddler siblings sitting in rapt attention at their side, absorbing the illustrations as eagerly as we all look up at a sunny sky.

Fact-inspired Fiction Reveals Human Truths: THE PHONE BOOTH IN MR. HIROTA'S GARDEN

 

ORCA  BOOK PUBLISHING, 2019

This picture book has been around for several years, yet it crossed my path again recently. It certainly should stay in circulation and I hope this review and recommendation will support that possibility. THE PHONE BOOTH IN MR. HIROTA'S GARDEN is written by Heather Smith and illustrated by Rachel Wada. This fictionalized story mirrors many aspects of the true story that inspired it, an actual gentleman who built a non-working phone booth in his garden to facilitate his private expressions of grief and connection directly to his deceased brother.

The author note indicates the power of hope and resilience revealed by providing a simple space of connection. It is  based on the belief of many that some form of our life-force continues even after physical death. 

The premise in this fictional story combines the loving connections between trusted village neighbors with the historic tsunami disaster that affected millions in Japan. Mr. Hirota's young neighbor visits daily at the edge of a garden overlooking the ocean coast. Together, they watch for Makio's dad and Mr. Hirota's daughter, noting their return ftom fishing to sort, clean, and prepare the catch for sale. This daily spotting practice, or "game", provides a rhythm to their lives that echoes the oceans daily greeting (O-HI-O, the phonetic pronunciation of HELLO in Japanese). The blank, off-white end pages provide no clue of what's to come, and yet their washed-away nothingness does indeed speak volumes. 

On a typical idyllic morning, the final line of the first page bodes disaster: 

"They were playing when the shaking started and the big wave came."

The writing and pacing are impressive in scene-setting, establishing stakes, and investing each character with empathetic value. Then a gigantic-hand-of-a-wave snatched away people as well as Mario's voice. The next several spreads have minimal text, while the soothing limited-color illustrations from early spreads shift to darker shading and tones to reveal intense loss and suggest details of destruction. As Makio and Mr. Hirota, survivors, survey the remaining fragments of life, the residue left behind by the tsunami's destruction, silence replaces their daily chatter and word play. 

Then Makio hears sounds of building, he notices a glass-windowed booth constructed at the edge   of the garden. Then he hears Mr. Hirota's voice, speaking to his missing daughter, Famika. The message was simple:  I miss you.

Makio investigates and finds the booth empty except for its view of the ocean and an old, disconnected phone. But Makio remained silent, except for screaming at the sea to bring the beloved people back. The reply, of course, was only Ocean's relentless greeting- O-HI-O, deepening his sadness. His exhaustion and defeat were so great that he finally summoned his voice to use the lonely phone booth. I miss you, Dad.

Other villagers visit the booth to speak to missing family and friends, too, reporting their daily doings and whispering their deepest feelings. The text remains minimal. No simple resolves are revealed, but each line packs a poetic punch and offers layers in threads of a future we begin to recognize as they weave together in the final pages. No simple (or sappy) resolution is offered, but indicators of healing, rebuilding, and mutual support reassure and ease the tension and ache of immeasurable loss. 

Art choices and superb execution meet the high bar of this magnificent story, elevating emotions while scaffolding the intensity of feelings with sprawling views, personal/positional connections, and intentional color shifts to lead readers through this journey of grief and recovery. Just as a seemingly simple device (a wood and glass box with an unconnected phone) becomes a conduit to inner peace, this direct narrative and limited-palette illustration are effective because of the deep emotional connections that make them resonate with reality: traditional Japanese symbols, techniques, and tools used to capture the spirit and heart of this time, place, and problem. 

Books of grief and loss can be challenging, even avoided. This, though, should be shared widely. It reminds us that strength is found in community, that recovery takes time, that speaking aloud our feelings can be healing. And so much more. Please consider tracking this down, reading it, and sharing it.

A Fast Fanfare of Fiction Titles

 I've returned from a lengthy stretch away. It's one that involved loss and struggle, as well as some illness. I only mention that to indicate that this marks a full return. I'll resume a more normal schedule now, and I thank you for your patience and for staying with me during some abbreviated posts and less frequent reviews.

That stack of very special picture books I mentioned in a recent post, HERE, has now gained my full attention. Any one of them deserves a full post. In my time away, I was honored and excited to learn that I will again be serving as a ROUND ONE CYBILS panelist for 2022 titles in the nonfiction category. Since our listings this year will span elementary, middle grade, and high school titles, I'm already beginning the process of reading and preparing reviews for those. As a result, I offered brief thoughts about these fantastic fiction books in my GOODREADS pages. I'll include them here with cover images and a line or two from my reviews. I hope you'll trust my opinion enough to get your hands on them and check them out for yourself while I return to a growing stack of nonfiction titles at the other side of my desk!

CLARION BOOKS, 2022

LITTLE GOOD WOLF is written  and illustrated by the talented pair of sisters, Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel. 

Some lines from my Goodreads notes:

It is a topsy-turvy twist on the trope of a BIG BAD WOLF in those many folk tales, with a young wolf who is a major disappointment to his "Big Bad" parent wolves. Despite their most earnest efforts, he is deeply, naturally GOOD, but also wants to please his parents and be accepted by them.

 

CAPSTONE EDITIONS, 2022

YOU ARE LIFE is written by Bao Phi and illustrated by Hannah Li. Moving from fantasy/allegory to contemporary philosophy and identity, this is a book for everyone, with special emphasis on the ways in which we are alike... in a society that too often stresses and threatens differences.

I had this to say:

Lyrical, lovely text and images that offer a diverse cast but with particular affirmation of Asian/Pacific Island children whose physical identity may have resulted in situati0ns of taunting/bullying or led to witnessing this toward people in their family or communities, especially during the polarized Covid battles. The author note in back is worth reading with young audiences. 

CAROLRHODA BOOKS, 2022

FROM THE TOPS OF TREES is written by Kao Kalia Yang and illustrated by Rachel Wada. 

This is must-read for any age.

The art on the colorful pages of this poignant book will connect with kids from any background, while introducing them to the daily life of a child's family and community life in a refugee camp. Despite the comforting love of family and glorious pets, despite occasional spreads of grey and somewhat worrisome expressions. This child's hope is for life in a place that is different, better, holds promise, but she has no experience on which to frame such dreams. 

Her father's uplifting solution opens the whole world to her future. 

LITTLE, BROWN & COMPANY, 2022

BERRY SONG is written and illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade. 

Don't miss this one at any time of the year, but especially at this harvest time of year.

Dripping with delicious language and emhanced by glorious art in natural tones and sweeps of outdoor scenes, this brief, simple text celebrates "berrying" through the voices of an Alaskan indigenous pair, young and older. 

ut in the forest, they seek... BERRIES, like "little jewels".

From those early pages, the voices of elder and young, forest and heritage echo to each other with the values and cultural richness they share. Interspersed with berry chants naming specifics that were new to me, little audiences will quickly learn to chime in as they recur:

"thimbleberry, swampberry, dogberry, chalk berry,

lingonberry, raspberry, bunchberry, cranberry."

and more...

As I reread and wrote these various notes I realized that these are titles that are well-suited to share a post, since each deals with personal identity and finding/embracing our places in the wide world and within our own families.

I'll let those be the last words on this bouquet of terrific fiction titles. Let the fiction reading begin for you, and nonfiction for me!  Back with those notes soon.