Earth Hour: A Lights-Out Event for Our Planet

PreS-Gr 2—This short, sweet, and to the point picture book about energy conservation spotlights Earth Hour. Every March, people all over the world turn off their electricity for one hour in order to save energy. Heffernan explains what energy and electricity are and how the entire planet uses these resources. Each turn of the page shows how people in a different part of the world use electricity, from keeping their homes warm and cool to making food to keeping people and their clothes clean. Luu's gorgeous visuals depict a contrast throughout the book of what different locations on the planet look like with lights on and with lights off. Back matter describes Earth Hour and why it is important to conserve energy. The author's note shares the inspiration for this book. VERDICT An easy-to-read text with great visuals. A serviceable addition to any library's conservation section.—Kristin Joy Anderson, Lewis University, Romeoville, IL

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

For Earth Hour, people turn out the lights "on a Saturday night, at 8:30 sharp, near the equinox in March" as a "pledge to live more sustainably and conserve energy." In the first half of this picture book introduction to Earth Hour, Heffernan describes the many ways that people use energy worldwide, from warming homes to cooking dumpling soup, accompanied by Luu's crisp, cartoony illustrations, which incorporate world landmarks (the Sydney Opera House and Giza Necropolis), assorted landscapes, and people of varying skin tones. Then, "on every continent, millions join together, in quiet celebration, to turn out their lights.... Yet this one hour a year isn't enough." Closing notes more clearly explain Earth Hour's origin, meaning, and purpose, and amplify the text's call to collective action: "Alone we are one.../ but together we have power./ United, we are Earth Hour." Ages 3-7. (Jan.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Once a year, all over the world, people celebrate the electricity we use in our daily lives by turning off lights in homes, offices, and famous monuments for a single Earth Hour.In time for next spring's Earth Hour, March 29, 2020, this admirable debut offers both the what and the why. Luu's cheery illustrations emphasize the worldwide nature of this event. The book begins with vignettes: examples of electricity use, including cozy home scenes, city streets, and the lit-up Earth as seen from space. Next, full pages and double-page spreads show illuminated buildings, cities, and internationally recognizable monuments at night. The scenes then move to the interior: bathtime, family games, and lights out. The international scenes reappear, without artificial light. The next to the last spread shows a single sleeping child (echoing Clement Hurd's "great, green room"); the final one shows people of many colors and ethnicities (one using a wheelchair) carrying candles and lanterns on a starlit night: "Alone we are one... // ...but together we have power. / United, we are Earth Hour." Heffernan's simple narrative runs across the pages, tying the story together. Her author's note recalls her surprise at seeing San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge go suddenly dark in honor of Earth Hour a few years ago, and a short final note connects energy use to global climate change. A timely invitation to participate in raising energy consciousness.
—Kirkus Reviews

This appealing picture book opens with children and adults using energy day and night, all over the world. Energy warms our soup, our bath water, and our homes. It brightens our cities and landmarks at night. But each year, at 8:30 on a Saturday night near the spring equinox, people around the globe turn out their lights in observance of Earth Hour. As the informative back matter states, that action signifies "a pledge to live more sustainably and conserve energy" all year long. Brief but effective, the even-handed text guides readers to scenes of people, usually families, often with visual clues in the background indicating locations on every continent. In the beginning, these scenes are brightly lit, but after Earth Hour begins, the same people and places are lit by the moon, stars, and aurora australis. Like the text, Luu's beautiful digital illustrations create a positive, peaceful tone, depicting a variety of people around the world, united in their determination to protect our shared planet by conserving energy. A hopeful picture book introducing Earth Hour.
—Booklist

This short, sweet, and to the point picture book about energy conservation spotlights Earth Hour. Every March, people all over the world turn off their electricity for one hour in order to save energy. Heffernan explains what energy and electricity are and how the entire planet uses these resources. Each turn of the page shows how people in a different part of the world use electricity, from keeping their homes warm and cool to making food to keeping people and their clothes clean. Luu's gorgeous visuals depict a contrast throughout the book of what different locations on the planet look like with lights on and with lights off. Back matter describes Earth Hour and why it is important to conserve energy. The author's note shares the inspiration for this book. VERDICT An easy-to-read text with great visuals. A serviceable addition to any library's conservation section.
—School Library Journal