Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall (review)

Lighthouses have a powerful hold on the imagination, with their lonely but important mission, and Caldecott-winning illustrator Blackall illuminates (sorry) the lighthouse keeper experience in this compact fictional chronicle. When the new keeper arrives, he spruces the place up and sets about the age-old tasks: "He polishes the lens and refills the oil and trims the burned end of the wick. Throughout the night, he winds the clockwork that keeps the lamp in motion." Then he's joined by his wife, and they soon have a child; eventually, though, automation comes to the lighthouse, and the keeper and his family depart for the mainland—just across from the lighthouse, where they can see its light. Gentle ragged-right present-tense text evokes the rhythm of lighthouse life with constant references to maintaining the light and writing in the logbook, the daily routine punctuated by the occasional sea rescue and periodic visits from the tender that brings supplies. Visually, the book's tall, narrow trim size is so appropriate it's practically inevitable, and Blackall's soft yet precise line and watercolor illustrations provide inviting details (there's an alluring cross-section of the lighthouse right up front). Many spreads offer a circular vignette or two with a closer look at the human drama, but the backdrop keeps the ever-present ocean still literally in the picture. This would combine nicely with a field trip to a local lighthouse or a science lesson on Fresnel et al., or just use this to introduce kids to a historic way of life. A concluding note gives more technical and historical information about lighthouses. DS