RAY

A beaming ray of sunshine illuminates the role of visible light in energizing life on Earth.

Moon brings the same refreshing combination of charm and solid fact that animated her profiles of water (2021’s Drop) and air (2024’s Puff) to an even more fundamental subject. “I’m traveling light!” exclaims Ray, dashing through space with his fellow star-born rays. And, given that Ray is all energy, there’s nothing faster in the universe: “I am the speed limit!” Once through the Earth’s atmosphere, which filters out most of the gamma rays and other harmful parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, it’s time to light up the planet and provide it with colors, to turn on the heat, to “power the weather,” and, best of all, give plants and other forms of life the free energy required to grow. Fans of Drop and Puff will smile at cameos from the protagonists of those titles. In the vivid illustrations, bursts of light brighten deep seas and underground layers to demonstrate energy’s reach, storage, and continual flow, as well as the planetary surfaces, where light plays an essential role in making food for all. In final views, a diverse group of young campers peer into a fire and up at a starry sky. “Every moment you live, you turn light into you!” the book concludes. “Oh! The possibilities!”

A high-wattage spotlight on our most important power source.