Producing Energy

Producing Energy

Carey, H. (1984). Producing energy. New York: Franklin Watts.  

Genre: Non-Fiction

Age Level: 8-10

Summary:  Producing Energy is one of many non-fiction/informational books written for children by Helen Carey. This short chapter book discusses the many types of energy that humans depend on for survival and many types of energy that are emerging as primary sources of power. This book has chapters and sections dedicated to coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear energy, wind energy, hydroelectricity, and solar power. Each type of energy discussed has its advantages and drawbacks but the author states the importance of moving from consuming non-renewable resources to using more efficient types of energy producing methods.

Reflection: Helen Carey sets this book up like it would be used as a classroom textbook. The chapters of this book discuss the physical science behind gathering these resources to produce energy and then turning these resources into energy to be used throughout the country. The text is separated by chapters but with many heading, subtitles, and bolded words for easy navigation. For example, chapter 2 “Coal” is broken up into sections “Mining Coal,” “Transporting Coal,” “Uses of Coal,” “New Technology for Coal,” and “Coal Industry.” The bolded terms in the chapters can be found in the glossary at the end of the book for a more exact definition which is great for gaining factual knowledge. Of course, not every aspect of these types of energy is discussed but that would make the book practically endless. This book is somewhat outdated but it’s interesting to see if what the author mentions in this book about how we could potentially use energy has come to pass. She talks about wind farming being in an experimental stage but many states like Oklahoma and Kansas have wind farms set up amongst many acres of land that are producing enough energy to support small towns.