The Tower to the Sun

Grade 1-6. Thompson creates a futuristic world in which the Earth is shrouded in a yellow, polluted mist and only the "weakest wash of sunshine" comes through. The richest man in the world and his grandson set out to penetrate the fog in order to see the sun. Collecting buildings from every continent, they spend years fabricating a tower. Finally, the leaning tower of Pisa is set at its peak, and the sky grows lighter. Sitting next to his great-grandson, the man feels the "warmth of life shine on his skin." The outlook of this book can only be described as bleak with its stark, desolate cityscape; dreary apocalyptic sky; and slim hope of continued survival. The only bright bit of fun arrives with the building of the tower where Thompson's signature crowding of minute details allows readers to put aside the story's premise in favor of discovering every visual nuance and identifying famous buildings. And yet this distraction is obliterated by the final illustration with its desolate line of silhouetted people waiting for their climb up the now menacing structure that looms like a foreboding atomic mushroom cloud. Maybe young readers will be incensed at the implied downtrodden apathy of this world's general population. Maybe this book will serve to spark the imagination in older readers to find more far-reaching, positive solutions. There's a lot of potential for discussion here.?Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI

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