Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth

Gr 2-4--The sun narrates this book about the slow creation but relatively quick depletion of fossil fuels, or "buried sunlight." Sounding like a father advising a child, the sun explains that while the Earth has always undergone periods of heating and cooling, those changes happened gradually, giving time for the species inhabiting the planet to adjust. Now humankind is burning--literally--through fossil fuels at such a pace that an extraordinary amount of carbon dioxide has been released within a few hundred years, heating up the atmosphere at a very rapid rate. Unless we find ways to use fossil fuels more discriminately and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide enveloping the earth, the climate will continue to destabilize with increasingly serious consequences. The sun ends by saying, "The choice is yours." While the audience deserves a straightforward discussion of environmental issues, a statement like this, especially when made to children, should be followed by empowering suggestions for action. A concluding section elaborates on points made in the main text, but the solutions listed--solar energy, nuclear energy--are beyond the reach of kids. Other than this criticism, the book is a solid resource of digestible information about our planet's past, present, and future. Bang's beautiful illustrations have a folk-art style and are saturated with deep blues and rich greens. An important, thought-provoking look at the growing environmental crisis.--Alyson Low, Fayetteville Public Library, AR