Wind Energy: Blown Away!

Children's Literature - Barbara L. Talcroft

This "Powering Our World" series entry appears designed to bring information about energy sources to a younger audience than usual. The reader-friendly, slim, square books cover basic information in a format using large sans serif type and a color photo for each page of text (possibly putting off older readers because any photographs of children are of primary-age students). That said, the content is accurate, and the illustrations are both appropriate and well chosen. In this book, students are introduced to the concept of using wind for renewable, non-polluting power. The movement of air (wind) has been used for thousands of years to sail boats and turn the arms of windmills, both attractively illustrated. Today, wind power is being generated by wind turbines, whose blades cause a drive shaft to move gears that turn a generator—hundreds of these turbines make up a wind farm. Scientists study the wind to see where turbines can be most effective, usually on prairies or mountains or even off seacoasts; lighter winds can be used in smaller turbines for houses and farms. The author makes it clear that wind power has some disadvantages: winds are variable and wind power cannot easily be stored. Although each book includes a fuel time line and a glossary, teachers will need to plan additional activities and projects, with field trips to any nearby source of energy production, like the windmills and wind turbines pictured. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft