The Lighthouse Keeper's Rescue

When Mr. Grinling, an elderly lighthouse keeper, begins falling asleep before he turns on the lighthouse's light, he fears he will lose his job

Mr. Grinling, first introduced in The Lighthou s e Keeper's Lunch (1979; o.p.) and The Lighthouse Keeper's Catastrophe (1986, both Andre Deutsch), still delights in his work but, due to his advancing age, begins dozing on the job. He fails on two occasions to turn on the lighthouse beam, and so is fired. As he and his wife sadly pack their belongings, they and some local villagers rescue a beached whale. Everyone is pleased when the lighthouse authorities reward Mr. Grinling by rehiring him as a part-time lighthouse keeper. The text reads well aloud and is appropriately placed on sprightly, full-page watercolors, accented with pen-and-ink details to lend definition. The pages are sometimes cluttered and on occasion the faces in a single picture are penned in disconcertingly different styles--a flatter look mixed with a more three-dimensional one. The strength of this picture book lies in its brief but effective character portrayal of two elderly and likable protagonists. --Cynthia Bishop, Onondaga County Public Library, Syracuse, NY
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.