The Tower to the Sun

The Tower to the Sun
Written and Illustrated by Colin Thompson
Ages 9-12
*****

In the not too distant future, the world is a crowded, industrialized place where the clouds are so thick and heavy with pollution you can no longer see the sun.  The richest man in the world wants to find a way for his grandson to see the Sun.  After many different approaches and many years they build a tower together that reaches above the clouds.  People come from around the world to climb the tower and see the sun.

This story brought to mind "The Lorax" and only hit a little closer to home in its realistic approach.  Rather than employ  fantastical creatures or dire conditions as a ominous vision of the future of our planet the book opens with a view from space, and reflects on how one could once see the great wall of China.  The Earth sits in space, a dejected planet surrounded by yellow mist.  The world is not coming to an end, people are not dying in the streets, but heavy yellow clouds sit low in the sky and the rich man says, "You can't even see the mountains. The sits on our shoulders," but it is all the children have ever known.  I appreciated that the book obviously hints at themes of sustainability and environmental responsibility but does not make them the central function of the book.  It is a rich, fantastical story that will leave readers wondering.  The story goes beyond being a responsible citizen and has ties to a deeper sense of humanity and how we define the world, reflecting not only a place of pollution but a world with no sky.  In the end of the story the tower is equated to the Great Wall of China, "as the Great Wall of China had been to generations before, the Great Tower would stand as their memorial".

I really enjoyed the quirky illustrations as I enjoy all of Thompson's artwork.  The illustrations of the city reflect a sort of post industrialism, science fiction, dystopia.  There are huge sky scrapers and futuristic contraptions but everything seems to be falling apart and when you look closely you realize there are giant kangaroos reading books, goldfish in the sewers and people living in shoes.  The vivid, fantastical illustrations lighten the heavy theme of the book and the details will keep children looking reading after reading.

I would definitely read this book to my class and think it would appeal to a wide age group.  I would use the story to introduce the idea of pollution and different environmental issues, possibly working it into a larger study on the environment and how to live sustainably.  I would also work in the futuristic aspect and discuss what the Earth might be like in the future; cars, houses, etc. taking into account rising populations and resources.  I might have my students create their own city as a group project or on a smaller scale draw a picture of how they imagine the world might be or create an invention.