Birdie's Lighthouse (Fiction) [Hardcover]

Deborah Hopkinson (Author), Kimberly Bucklen Root (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997 | Age Level: 4 and up | Series: Fiction

Young Birdie lives with her family on a tiny and isolated lighthouse island, and when her lighthouse-keeper father becomes seriously ill during a violent storm, it is Birdie who must lead the ships safely to port."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books; 1ST edition (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689810520
• ISBN-13: 978-0689810527
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,067,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deborah Hopkinson is the award-winning of picture books, fiction, and nonfiction for young readers. She has won the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text twice, for A Band of Angels and Apples to Oregon. Her book, Sky Boys, How They Built the Empire State Building, was a Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor awardee. Her recent works include Michelle, First Family, Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek, an ALA Notable, Keep On! The Story of Matthew Henson, Co-Discoverer of the North Pole, which won a 2009 Oregon Book Award, and Stagecoach Sal, named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2009. She serves as Vice President for Advancement at Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Birdie's Lighthouse-- a terrific book!, June 9, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Birdie's Lighthouse (Hardcover)

This book made me smile. I have known Deborah Hopkinson since I was born, and I am now fifteen. I think she is a wonderful writer and comes up with really clever ideas for books. I never knew there was someone that actually took care of the light house, I thought it was just there. She has a way of writing fiction that teaches readers at the same time. I also loved her other book, SWEET CLARA AND THE FREEDOM QUILT. When I read her books, I can sort-of hear her reading them aloud, telling the story of Clara or Birdie. She will always be dear to me and I hope that she keeps writing books for a long time to come.
--Angela Kieran-Vast

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting slice of Maine lighthouse life in 1855!, June 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Birdie's Lighthouse (Fiction) (Hardcover)

This lovely picture book, whose tall thin shape reflects its subject, is the fictional journal of a lighthouse keeper's daughter in 1855, Birdie's tenth year. Hopkinson, author of the highly acclaimed SWEET CLARA AND THE FREEDOM QUILT, returns with evocative prose that captures the roar of the sea, the lonely isolation of lighthouse life, and the terror and exhaustion of managaing the lights alone in a fierce storm. Root's brooding pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations reflect era, setting, and emotion. An author's note reveals the inspiration for Birdie - four heroic lighthouse women and girls, including the Maine herione, Abbie Burgess

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting slice of Maine lighthouse life in 1855!, June 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Birdie's Lighthouse (Library Binding)

This lovely picture book, whose tall thin shape reflects its subject, is the fictional journal of a lighthouse keeper's daughter in 1855, Birdie's tenth year. Hopkinson, author of the highly acclaimed SWEET CLARA AND THE FREEDOM QUILT, returns with evocative prose that captures the roar of the sea, the lonely isolation of lighthouse life, and the terror and exhaustion of
managaing the lights alone in a fierce storm. Root's brooding pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations reflect era, setting, and emotion. An author's note reveals the inspiration for Birdie - four heroic lighthouse women and girls, including the Maine herione, Abbie Burgess.