Synopsis
The diary of a ten-year-old girl who moves with her family in 1855 from a town on the Maine coast to rugged Turtle Island where her father is to be the lighthouse keeper
Reviews
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.
Root's evocative watercolor and pen-and-ink drawings in deep sea blues and greens are perfectly allied with Hopkinson's stirring tale, set off the coast of Maine in 1855, of a girl's life as a lightkeeper. Bertha Holland, known as Birdie, starts a diary when she's ten that takes readers through the year her father leaves sailing to become keeper of a lighthouse. Her brother, Nate, becomes a fisherman, but Birdie loves the look of the sea from the tower and the work of caring for the lamps, filling them with oil, and making sure they burn through the night to guide sailors to safety. When her father takes ill, she keeps the lamps working throughout a fierce storm, and finds that she has guided to harbor Nate's fishing boat. Period details and a spirited heroine with a clear voice make this book a genuine delight. Hopkinson notes that although Birdie is a fictional character, she was inspired by several real lighthouse keepers, among them Grace Darling of England and Abigail Burgess Grant of Maine. (Picture book. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Ages 4-9. In a tall, narrow book that suits its lighthouse setting, a young girl in the 1850s keeps the lamps burning bright and steady when her father falls ill during a storm. Ten-year-old Birdie tells the story in the form of her diary: how her father becomes lighthouse keeper and the family moves to lonely Turtle Island off the coast of Maine. Her brother leaves to work on a fishing boat, and Birdie becomes assistant keeper, learning the careful daily drill that keeps the light burning through the night. Then, there is a wild storm, her own brother is at risk, her father has a high fever, and Birdie must fill the lamps with oil so that the beam reaches out into the darkness. On every page Root's beautiful ink-and-watercolor pictures, with fine hatched lines, show both the wildness of the waves on the rocks and the delicacy of the warm interiors with Birdie and her family. In an afterword, Hopkinson talks about true-life women who inspired the story. Hazel Rochman
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
