The Sunshine Project

In the final book in the Book Uncle trilogy, Anil faces a dilemma when the city decides to build a solar panel factory on the site of a mangrove forest.

Anil loves karate, his friends and the solar power project he has been championing in his community. He doesn't love having to speak up -- as his karate sensei says, best fight, no fight. Still, Anil wishes his classmate Mohan would stop picking on him.

Then Anil learns where the city is planning to build a new solar panel factory. More sustainable energy is good news -- but this factory will threaten plant and animal species and force the village people who live on the land to move. Maybe staying quiet isn't an option anymore ...

A class assignment nudges Anil into action. Now he's a Young Reporter, so why not ask questions about the factory? With help from his friends Yasmin and Reeni, support from his classmates and neighbors, and the right book picks from Book Uncle, can Anil help the city find a solution that works for everyone? And just how loudly will he have to speak up?

A triumphant finale to the Book Uncle trilogy about the power of asking the right questions and listening when change comes to your community.

Key Text Features

chapters

dialogue

illustrations

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.9

Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3

Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6

Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3

Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

UMA KRISHNASWAMI was born in India and now lives in Victoria, BC. Her Book Uncle trilogy includes the bestselling Book Uncle and Me, winner of the ILA Social Justice Literature Award, Birds on the Brain and The Sunshine Project. Her picture books include Look! Look! and Out of the Way! Out of the Way!, both illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy. She has been nominated twice for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Uma is faculty emerita in the Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

JULIANNA SWANEY has illustrated numerous books for children, including the first two books in the Book Uncle trilogy: Book Uncle and Me and Birds on the Brain, both written by Uma Krishnaswami. She spends her time at her home in Oregon painting, gardening and daydreaming.