Friday, July 24, 2009

My Light by Molly Bang

So what provides the energy for your lights? Do you find yourself struggling to explain what electricity is, how we get it and why do we need to save it?

Molly Bang has provided a must read picture book for children that explains the energy of solar, wind, fossil fuels, water power and more in a style that will help grown-ups explain what energy is and how we acquire it. She explores a few of the pros and cons of different types of energy and their impact on our world.

She received mixed reviews as her explanatory task was enormous, but I think that if you just change the lens on the target age range the book is much more successful. I'd gear it for preschool through second for a successful delivery. Parents that are using the book (as opposed to just the reviewers) are giving it top marks as they are also able to paraphrase.

I'm rating it as a top pick as an important introductory tool to the environmental dialogue. I'm finding that kids get the reduce part more when they understand what the heck we're talking about in the first place. Turn off the lights carries more impact when kids are starting to "get it" vs. blind habit.
I've reprinted this from a prior review on my blog......as my own little light is weary this week. Enjoy!

3 comments:

Donna said...

My library has this book -- I'll have to check it out! Thanks for the review.

Green Bean said...

Sounds great! My kids are just the right age, too.

Going Crunchy said...

Cool! I love finding children's books that my kids like. This one is hard topic to explain for kids - especially as we get energy from multiple sources.