ENERGY ISLAND

An unidentified local inhabitant describes the process and some of the people responsible for the recent transformation of the Danish island of Samsø to energy self-sufficiency. His chatty narration is accompanied by loosely drawn ink-and-watercolor illustrations emphasizing the island’s windy nature. Windmill blades and pinwheels turn, hats blow off and clouds scud. Ranging from vignettes to full-page spreads and series showing the passage of time, these sketches perfectly reflect the story line. For older, more able readers, sidebars add explanations of relevant concepts: nonrenewable and renewable energy, the carbon dioxide problem, global warming, wind and other forms of energy and conservation. Though the focus is wind power, the author mentions other sources and energy-saving activities. In an afterword, he explains he has slightly adjusted the timeline. While he concentrates on the activities of Søren Hermansen, a local teacher who is now leader of the Samsø Energy Academy, he introduces two other early actors. A rough map shows Denmark’s general location in the eastern hemisphere but doesn’t label the North Sea or show enough of North America to help readers pinpoint the actual location. But the message is clear: An initially unconcerned community banded together and took steps that led to their current fame as a model of environmental action; we other residents of the island that is planet Earth can do that, too. (Informational picture book. 7-10)