by Allan Drummond (Author)
In his signature style, Allan Drummond tells the story of the largest solar plant in the world, the Noor Solar Power Plant in Morocco's Sahara Desert, in Solar Story―by relating it to the everyday life of a schoolgirl in a small village next to the plant.
As we see on a class field trip, the plant is not only bringing reliable power to the village and far beyond, but is providing jobs, changing lives, and upending the old ways of doing things―starting within the girl's own family. Blending detail-filled watercolors, engaging cartoon-style narration, in-depth sidebars, and an afterword, the author showcases another real-world community going green in amazing ways. A “powerful” addition to the author’s acclaimed series about conservation and renewable energy innovations in everyday life.
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A valuable look at sustainability and development.
This inviting picture book offers a forward-looking introduction to renewable energy.
Expanding his series of picture books on environmentally friendly community projects (see Green City, rev. 1/16; and Pedal Power, rev. 1/17), Drummond takes readers to Morocco, the location of the world's largest solar power plant.
Rural Ghassate, Morocco--"in the top left-hand corner of the map of Africa" between the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert--has a mighty neighbor: the Noor power plant, the largest "concentrated solar power plant in the world." In kinetic, loose-lined illustrations washed with sunbaked hues, a group of classmates explores and explains topics including solar power, sustainability, and community development. The class visit to the plant frames statistics useful to young readers--it is "the size of 3,500 soccer fields, and contains 660,000 mirrors"--while lengthy sidebars dive into deeper discussions of Morocco, the plant, and its multidimensional impacts on sustainability. Drummond's author's note relates that he visited a school in Ghassate, which sparked the idea for this framing and, despite his initial "cultural shortsightedness" about the plant's placement ("not... in a highly developed country like the United States"), taught him that "solutions... can be found everywhere and require a global perspective." Ages 4-8. (Mar.)
Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
"Loose lines and cheery watercolors are equally deft at describing energetic, ebullient kids and the vast power plant. . . a surprisingly complex yet accessible exploration. A valuable look at sustainability and development." —Kirkus Reviews
"Full-page art and double-page spreads convey a sense of Jasmine's school and community, while spot art and occasional vertical and horizontal panels pace the flow of textual information." —The Horn Book