Product Description

December 1, 1855

The sea is never still. Sometimes it roars so load that it drowns our voices. Mama says there hasn't been a storm this fierce since the night I was born. She thinks it too dangerous for me to go to the tower again. Yet what else can I do? I'm the lightkeeper now.

On the tiny lighthouse island that is her family's new home, Birdie faithfully keeps a journal. She writes down everthing: the change of seasons, the rhythms of the sea, and all that her father, the lightkeeper, is teaching her. But then one stormy night, her father is taken ill. And only Birdie knows how to keep the lighthouse's strong beam running. Will she be brave enough to guide the boats safely into harbor?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1188672 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-01
• Released on: 2000-06-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .29" h x 6.05" w x 11.29" l, .24 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

From Amazon.com
Author Deborah Hopkinson drew from 19th-century lighthouse keepers' diaries to inform this story of Birdie [Bertha] Holland, who, as we meet her on her 10th birthday, learns that her sailor father has been named keeper of Maine's Turtle Island lighthouse. The family will move to the cold, rocky island whose light guards the lives of seagoers.

Birdie learns to clip the lamp wicks and polish the reflectors that light the way. "Papa ... isn't sure a girl can do it, but I know I can learn to keep the light. I won't let him down."

And she doesn't. In a huge storm, Birdie tends the light alone, clinging to railings in the wind and blowing waves as she follows the life-and-death ritual that keeps the ships from harm.

"... Papa is so proud of me he told everyone in the village how I kept the lamps burning," Birdie tells us. Young readers will be pretty proud of her too.

[The publisher suggests ages 4-9 for this book; older readers with a touch of the romantic in them may enjoy it also.]

From Publishers Weekly
"Inspired by stories of real 19th-century lighthouse heroines, this atmospheric book uses a diary format to shape a portrait of a brave and likable girl," wrote PW. "The accomplished art underscores the immediacy of the narrative." Ages 4-9. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4. Written in diary form, this picture book tells the story of Birdie Holland, daughter of a lighthouse keeper on a tiny island off the Maine coast in 1855. Her brother helps their father in the lighthouse until he becomes a fisherman and leaves the island. Then Birdie must take his place. When her father becomes ill during a severe northeaster, she must carry out the duties alone. Toward morning, she sees that her efforts have saved her brother and his boat. The small details of this excellently written and researched tale, such as how the lamps were tended, the need to make sure they never go out, and the descriptions of the family's life on the island, make this story come to life. An author's note explains that it is based on the lives of actual lighthouse heroines. The detailed watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations are a perfect match for the narrative. They depict each period detail with clarity and lend atmosphere to Birdie's adventure, capturing the dark hues of the sea and the stark Maine landscapes and interiors. A shining bit of historical fiction for elementary audiences.?Anne Parker, Milton Public Library, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.