ELECTRICITY IN YOUR LIFE

A first look at what electricity does, where it comes from, and how to behave around it.

Beginning with toast, jam, and cartoons on TV, Seo explains that electricity is the “food and energy” not only for home appliances, but for those in hospitals and factories too. The facial features of human figures in Kwak’s neatly drawn scenes hint at this import’s Korean origin—as does the rice cooker in the kitchen and the round two-prong electrical sockets in the house’s walls. The narrator’s rather mild “It’s so inconvenient with no electricity!” in the wake of a blackout partway through may strike American readers as odd, particularly as characters speak of having to “walk up 15 floors” and lament their melted ice cream in addition to being unable to use the computer for homework or games. This is by no means a complete story. Seo explains that electricity comes through a “long and lengthy wire” from power plants that use water, wind, and sunlight—a decidedly incomplete tally of energy sources for both Korea and the United States. Furthermore, there is no mention of AC/DC, and batteries are relegated to an afterthought. Still, in general the wiring and other infrastructure, the various rooms, buildings, and subways visible in cutaway views, and the appliances on display are familiar enough to translate smoothly.

Not quite the whole story, but a pleasant, tidy start.