Hello Lighthouse

By Sophie Blackall

  • is an Australian artist, author and illustrator based in the USA.

  • First published in 2018.

  • 4-8

On the highest rock of a tiny island at the edge of the world stands a lighthouse.

Sophie Blackall says that she used to think of lighthouses from the point of view. of a ship. That’s so true. Most people do. I asked a few students what they know about lighthouses and not a single one mentioned the keepers. We don’t see them and we seem to not know what they do.

This book taught us so many things about the life of the keepers in the past. And this life wasn’t easy. We learned what was inside the lighthouse and how it worked, what the keeper’s responsibilities were and more importantly how hard they worked. The note from the author is very helpful and informative.

The artistic part of the book is also quite interesting. The book is long, it’s stretched to emphasise the proportions of the building. A lot of illustrations in it are trapped in circles to emphasise the shape inside the building. And a few of them are from above so it gives us the feeling that we’re spying on the keeper through the telescope.

A lot of little details describe the life back then and so it’s easy to have a conversation with children about the differences. They will tell you how they shop with the parents and what they do during the day. Their routine is so different. Can you imagine shopping only four times a year? How about sending letters in a bottle instead of texting with your grandma?

The books talks about their hard life but in a very gentle way. You don’t really feel sorry for them. Children certainly don’t because the keeper wouldn’t moan about it.

And then we see this beautiful metaphor. It gets dark and stormy. Although, it is not the weather that turns, it’s also his life that gets choppy. New times and new technologies force the keeper and his family ashore. And my students wanted to criticise that. As in how could they kick the keeper out? The lighthouse was his everything. It was his home, his job and even his child was born there. It’s sad.

But children learn one lesson. Sometimes bad things turn into good. The keeper has his new home, probably a less difficult job and a loving family that can still enjoy looking at the lighthouse.