ENERGY ANIMATED

With the help of interactive tabs, readers learn about the many ways energy can be created or harnessed.

It’s always exciting when a book tackles a seldom-covered topic, but regrettably, the execution, subject, and vocabulary level of this one are enormously mismatched with the board-book crew. Children old enough to contextualize uranium as “a radioactive metal that gets very hot as it decays” are too old for this format. Related in a straightforward tone that might be interpreted as “just the facts, ma’am,” the protracted text describes ways of making and capturing energy such as coal, nuclear, solar, wind, and hydro, but it’s overcomplicated and seems, at points, disingenuous. While descriptions of drilling oil are accurate, the flat statements feel pointedly detached from damage drilling can cause; this stands in contrast to the way solar panels’ utility is somewhat pooh-poohed: Solar “only works during the day though.” Innovative paper craft featuring flashy pull-tabs, flaps, gears, and spinners add interest, as kids start dams flowing or move trains, but again, are readers old enough to grasp the complexities of the way mirrors facilitate solar-energy production going to be delighted by a smiley-faced sun spinner? Bright, cheerful cartoon-style art feels tonally jarring at points. No number of upbeat coral and aqua bushes really offsets a radiation symbol. All human characters are depicted with light skin.

Far too ambitious in scope for little ones; far too babyish in format for older kids.