The picture book Wired by Anastasia Suen (illustrated by Paul Carrick; Charlesbridge, 2007) gives two levels of text to teach about electricity in our communities. First, rhythmic poetry provides just a few words on each page to give a gentle poem about electricity going from a power station to a home for young readers. The

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In Which Switch is Which?: A First Look at Electricity by Sam Godwin (Holder Wayland, 2002; currently out of print), three mice and a moth explore a kitchen one night. The story is told by a simple line of text at the top of the page and also speech bubbles. As they are exploring, the

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Throughout the picture book Flick a Switch: How Electricity Gets to Your Home by Barbara Seuling (illustrated by Nancy Tobin; Holiday House, 2003), a girl and her dog comment on what they see and learn about switches and electricity. It includes basic facts at an easy-to-read level, making it a great upper elementary-level research book

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The nonfiction picture book My Light by Molly Bang (Blue Sky Press, 2004) is narrated by the sun and covers many topics in elementary science. The influence of the sun is woven into explanations about the power of the great star into the water cycle and so much more. The water’s movement and the warm

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In the true picture book Green City: How One City Survived a Tornado and Rebuilt for a Sustainable Future by Allan Drummond (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2016), the small town of Greensburg, Kansas that had been destroyed by a tornado was able to rebuild with environmentally friendly methods. In fact, all the buildings (schools, banks, residences)

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As the subtitle suggests, an origami firefly narrates Glowing with Electricity: Science Adventures with Glenda the Origami Firefly by Thomas Kingsley Troupe, illustrated by Jamey Christoph (Picture Window Books, 2015). Glenda the origami firefly, hanging outside a home, teaches the real fireflies why and how the backdoor lamp glows. The origami firefly story frame may

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Light Comes to Shadow Mountain by Toni Buzzeo (Pixel + Ink, July 2023) is a fictional middle grade novel centered around Cora May Tipton, a spirited and eager girl living in rural Kentucky during the Great Depression. Cora resides on Shadow Mountain, a considerable distance from the nearest town. Thanks to President Roosevelt’s New Deal

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