Recently I discussed Farmhouse, a book by Sophie Blackall. I met and was quite impressed by Sophie at the Children’s Literature Conference. Her 2018 picture book Hello Lighthouse relates to Farmhouse in several ways, First, both books focus on a single location, and second, the story of that location is a key part of the book. In both books, the place and structure interweave with people’s lives: they shape one another, they depend on one another, and the people in both books are, in their own ways, partially who they are because of these specific locations.
Hello Lighthouse is different in a couple of key ways, though. First, while most people have been in houses, and many have been in farmhouses, comparatively few have been in lighthouses, and far fewer have experienced the rugged isolation and living in the compact confines of a lighthouse. That means the shape, the height, the isolation, the proximity to water, and the relationship to light and dark, sight and shadow, are essential to Hello Lighthouse. Second, this book really does what I wish more children’s books do: it plays with perspectives.
We see the lighthouse from without, but we also see cutaway images, to reveal the different levels. We see the spiral staircase, and we see the rising and breaking spirals of the waves. We see the sea in storm; we see the water flat and frozen. I can imagine kids turning this book in all directions, following the lines and action, and that’s just lovely.
Again, good stuff.
