Climate Lit

Series: The Sunlight Series

Words from the authors:

“We wrote this series to teach students some of the most basic concepts about how life on Earth works. The first in the series, My Light, introduces the sun as the narrator and shows how humans change sunlight into the electricity we use every day. The rest of the series is focused on the sun’s role in the biosphere as the engine of life on Earth. These books describe photosynthesis on land (Living Sunlight) and in the sea (Ocean Sunlight), and how all life depends on this process. In Buried Sunlight, we describe the role of photosynthesis in creating fossil fuels, and how our use of this “fossil sunlight” is changing our planet. [In Rivers of Sunlight, readers will learn about the constant movement of water as it flows around the Earth and the sun’s important role as water changes between liquid, vapor, and ice.]

These picture books are intended to elucidate the science for adults as well as for children. One of the inspirations for these books was a study that showed that even advanced students—including recent Harvard and MIT graduates—don’t understand that photosynthesis produces living matter from carbon dioxide in the air, and is the foundation of the entire biosphere. Because this fundamental concept is so important, we chose the sun as the narrator of the books and photosynthesis as the thread that
unites them. We hope our presentation will not only make the science clear, but will leave the reader with a sense of awe and wonder at how the Earth functions—and will help make the information “stick” with readers.

Because of our emphasis on the integration of words and pictures, we urge teachers to concentrate on helping students “read” the pictures as they go from page to page. If children understand what the pictures are saying, they’ll be able to describe the scientific concepts in words.”

https://thesunlightseries.com

https://www.scholastic.com/content/dam/teachers/migrated-assets-not-associated-with-content/migrated-pdfs-and-other-files/sunlightseriesdg.pdf

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Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas

by Molly Bang, Penny Chisholm

“Dive into the sea! Now flip over slowly, and look up. The water is shimmering with light – my light. I am your sun, your golden star. All ocean life depends on me; so does all life on land.”

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Rivers of Sunlight: How the Sun Moves Water Around the Earth

by Molly Bang, Penny Chisholm

“I am your Sun. My energy warms your days. I light up your world. But of all my planets, only one is teeming with life: your Earth. Why? Because it is covered with water – H2O – always moving, always changing, from liquid to solid to vapor and back again.”

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