We Carry the Sun

K-Gr 3–Keller takes readers on a marvelous thought experiment, speculating about early humans and their ideas about the sun. Skipping forward in time to a colonial era, “we begin to believe the sun is not enough.” Cue the Industrial Revolution and the burning of coal, a step in humanity that slowly, over centuries, poisons the earth. A French math teacher, Augustin Mouchot, wonders about the use of coal and how to harness the sun’s energy more efficiently. Mouchot exits and a New Yorker named Charles Fritts, “two decades later,” creates the world’s first solar panel; engineer Aubrey Eneas tweaks the design; scientist Maria Telkes and her friend, architect Eleanor Raymond, come up with the first solar-heated home. The list of contributors builds; progress is not swift but solar energy becomes cheaper than fossil fuel. The premise of the story—how did solar energy come about—is somewhat obscured until the poetry gives way to lessons of more recent eras: corporate greed, lobbyists, activists, profits over promise, and other elements that prevent solar energy from taking hold. The luminous illustrations make clear how dire this is; then Keller’s tone returns to optimism about people working together. Back matter includes an author’s note and a solar energy time line. This is a complex but well-told story; the subsequent lecture, though necessary, on climate change and all our wrongdoings regarding the planet turn an eye-opening journey of collaborations across time and space into a pretty heavy lift for young readers.