Solar Power

Energy for Today

by Tea Benduhn

The Sun is our greatest source of energy. Without its light and heat, life on Earth would not exist. For centuries, people have used the Sun's energy to heat their homes and cook meals. Today, we use the Sun's power, called solar power, to make electricity. Learn about the different ways we convert the Sun's energy to electricity and the exciting plans for solar power in the future.

24 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2008

About the author

Tea Benduhn lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her two cats. She has an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College in Boston, and a BA in English and secondary education from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Of Gravel Queen, she says:
"I wanted to write an uplifting story about teen love that had a positive outcome. When I was growing up and discovering my identity, I read a lot about the tragic consequences of following desire lines, as well as negative stereotypes about the South, but did not see much evidence of either in my real, daily experience. So I wrote Gravel Queen to show the celebratory and fun part of teen life."

Reviews

[Alyssa]

This grade 2 and up informational text is organized in short chapters that include pictures. Each chapter defines key terms about solar energy and introduces high-level concepts, such as global warming, with words appropriate for emerging readers. There is a glossary, index, and resource list as well; all aspects of informational texts that are not commonly included in materials written for the younger grades.

This book will make a great resource to accompany a science lesson or unit on energy. An introductory lesson on the parts of a textbook could also be built around this book because of the well defined layout, chapter structure and resource sections included.