7th August International Lighthouse Day

August appears to have become Lighthouse month around the world – here in the southern hemisphere in Spring while in Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Both seasons are wonderful for visiting a lighthouse and its surrounds.

On the Lighthouses of Australia Website you will find a map of all the lighthouses in Australia and then if you click on NSW you will see all the lighthouses you can visit and what they offer. There are activities for children such as treasure hunts. You could use this web page to create a quiz as not all the lighthouses are designed by the same person or  are even maintained by the same authorities.

I grew up on the South Coast of New South Wales so I saw a lighthouse everyday on my walk to and from school. Lucky me! There is a very small one too, not far from where I live near Sydney Harbour. So this is the month to explore, revel in and read about lighthouses! 

Unfortunately not many of the books about lighthouses are Australian, but the best one  Hello Lighthouse is written and illustrated by Sophie Blackall who was born in Australia and lived here until after she finished university and this book was shortlisted for Picture Book of the Year in 2020. It also won the prestigious Caldecott Medal in the USA.

Lighthouses have been in use since the earliest days of sea-going vessels. They were built to warn sailors of dangerous and damaging rocks and reefs. They are a picturesque and fascinating part of history. We can read picture books to learn a lot about the history of lighthouses and the people who were their keepers. Each of these highlights a particular time in history and unusually the role women played in that history.

The children's picture book, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge  by Hildegarde H. Swift and Lynd Ward was published in 1946. It is based on a real lighthouse, Jeffrey's Hook Light, a small lighthouse located in Fort Washington Park along the Hudson River in Manhattan, New York City under the George Washington Bridge.

Miss Coffax's Light by Aimee Bissonette and Eileen Ryan Ewen.   In 1861, at the age of 37, Harriet Colfax took on the job of lighthouse keeper for the Michigan City lighthouse off Lake Michigan. It was a bold and determined endeavor, especially since there were very few female lighthouse keepers in the country at that time. For 43 years, until the age of 80, Harriet kept her light burning, through storms, harsh winters, and changes in technology. This true story focuses on Harriet's commitment and determination to fulfilling her charge and living life on her own terms. Excerpts from her actual log are included.

Kate's Light by Elizabeth Spires and Emily Arnold McCully.  When Kate Kaird immigrated with her young son Jacob from Germany to America in 1882, she couldn't have predicted the surprising turn her life would take. She soon met and married John Walker, keeper of the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. They moved to Robbins Reef Lighthouse in New York Harbor in 1885 and she became assistant keeper.  When her husband died several years later, she was determined to stay on. After convincing the Lighthouse Board that she could do the job alone, Kate was appointed permanent keeper of the lighthouse, becoming one of the first women on the Eastern seaboard to be put in charge of an offshore lighthouse.

Courage Like Kate by Anna Crowley Redding and Emily Sutton. This picture book biography is  based on the life of Kate Moore, a twelve-year-old lighthouse keeper in the 19th century who saved the lives of twenty-three sailors.  Travel back to the stormy, rocky shores of  Connecticut and meet an unforgettable heroine-- at a time when girls were considered anything but. Fayerweather Island had seen blustery blizzards and rip-roaring tides, but it had never seen a pint-sized hurricane until Kate Moore claimed that tiny island as her own. Little Kate was supposed to be the lighthouse keeper's daughter, but she thought of herself as Papa's assistant.

Lighthouse Girl  by Dianne Wolfer and Brian Simmonds. Fay lives alone with her father on bleak, windswept Breaksea Island, but her isolated life takes a dramatic turn with the outbreak of World War I. Based on the true story of Fay Howe, this gentle tale brings to life the hardships of those left at home during the war – waiting, wondering, hoping. Drawing on fascinating archival material, and interweaving fact with fiction.

Bridie's Lighthouse  by Deborah Hopkinson and Kimberly Buckley Root. 

"December 1, 1855   The sea is never still. Sometimes it roars so load that it drowns our voices. Mama says there hasn't been a storm this fierce since the night I was born. She thinks it too dangerous for me to go to the tower again. Yet what else can I do? I'm the lightkeeper now." On the tiny lighthouse island that is her family's new home, Birdie faithfully keeps a journal. She writes down everthing: the change of seasons, the rhythms of the sea, and all that her father, the lightkeeper, is teaching her. But then one stormy night, her father is taken ill. And only Birdie knows how to keep the lighthouse's strong beam running. Will she be brave enough to guide the boats safely into harbour?

Abbie Against the Storm by Marcia Vaughan and Bill Farnsworth. Abbie Burgess and her family move to Maine where her father will be caring for the lighthouse. This is an account of a young girl's triumph over a savage storm as well as her own fears, based on an actual incident that took place in the winter of 1856.

Keeper of the Light  by Caroline Arnold and Rachell Sumpter. Juliet Fish Nichols is the keeper of the light on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her foe? The fog. Day and night-summer, fall, winter, spring-she must keep the light shining and the fog bell ringing, no matter what. But what happens when there is a major earthquake? Inspired by the real Juliet's lightkeeper logs and adventures.

Lighthouse Ladies  by Chris Coronado and Islenia Mil. To man a lighthouse over a century ago in America required guts, courage, and bravery. It was a job tackled by hundreds every day, many of whom . . . were not men! This true tale chronicles the amazing feats of four fascinating women. Each real lighthouse lady featured in this book—whether she's on a wind-walloped Hawaiian clifftop or an icy channel off the Virginia coast—shows that girl power was around long before it became a popular phrase. 

Of course school libraries won't have all of these books, but they will have plenty of stories that feature lighthouses as part of their setting. My students love Mr and Mrs Grinling from the Lighthouse Keeper  books by Ronda and David Armitage. The vocabulary in them is astounding! Here's a Pinterest page of titles. And below there are some of the more recent titles.