A global warming primer for elementary school students, this book has a surprising narrator, who introduces herself right on the first page:

I am your sun, your golden star. Even from 93 million miles away, I warm your land, your seas, your air, and chase the darkness from your days. My energy gives light and life to your tiny Earth.”

The sun explains to us how using fossil fuels is really using the energy of the sun and then details the dangers in our so quickly using up so many years’ worth of stored up sunlight, arguing that we should be trying to use less energy and looking for new ways to get power for our everyday life.

The science here is challenging but clearly explained. The back matter is long (around 2000 words!) and detailed. The pictures are gorgeous–but who would ever expect less from Molly Bang?

Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth, by Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm, illustrated by Molly Bang. Blue Sky Press: 2014.