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.

22nd November Go For a Ride Day

Select your favourite mode of transport, from bike to boat, from skates to sledge, pack some supplies and see what adventure the ride takes you on. The preschoolers come to the library looking for books about transport and diggers so this day gives you an excuse to do a  display of the various ways you can go for a ride. Here's a selection that your library might have too.

Bicycle

• Christopher's Bicycle  by Charlotte Middleton 

• The Red Bicycle  by Simone Shin

• Mulga Bill's Bicycle  by A.B Patterson and Kilmeny Niland

• I Love My Bike  by Simon Mole

Car

• Mr Gumpy's Motor Car  by John Burningham

• Rattletrap Car  by Phyllis Root

• My First Car Was Red  by Peter Schossow

• Racing Car is Roaring  by Mandy Archer

Truck

• The Truck Cat  byDeborah Frenkel

• Yellow Truck Road Train  by Mandy Tootell

• With Any Luck, I'll Drive a Truck by David Friend

• Little Blue Truck  by Alice Schertle

Bus

• The Boy on the Bus  by Penny Dale

• Little Cat and the Big Red Bus  by Jane Godwin

• We Catch the Bus  by Katie Abey

• Bunnies on the Bus  by Philip Ardagh

Train

• The Train Ride  by June Crebbin

• Steam Train, Dream Train  by Sherry Dusker Rinker

• Runaway Train by Benedict Blathwayt

• And the Train Goes ... by William Bee

Boat

• Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen

• Mr Gumpy's Outing  by John Burningham

• Bunnies in a Boat by Philip Ardagh

• Anchored by Debra Tidball

Plane

• Catch That Plane!  by Sally Sutton

• Emma Jane's Aeroplane by Katie Haworth

• Violet the Pilot  by Dino Yipadee

• A Shorebird Flying Adventure  by Jackie Kerin

Helicopter

• The Little Yellow Digger and the Helicopter by peter Gilderdale

• Roto and Roy: Helicopter Heroes  by Sherry Duskey Rinker

• Ellie Copter  by Deano Yipadee

• Hovering Helicopters by Tony Mitton

Rocket

• Space Song Rocket Ride  by Sunny Scribens

• Sadie Sprocket Builds a Rocket  bySue Fliess

• Rocket Ship, Solo Trip  by Chiara Colombi

• Dinosaur Rocket  by Penny Dale

Tractor

• Tractor  by Sally Sutton

• Duck on a Tractor  by David Shannon

• Driving My Tractor  by Jan Dobbins 

• Otis  by Loren Long

How else could you go for a ride?

ferris wheel, skateboard, scooter, ambulance, firetruck, garbage truck, skis,  camel, surfboard, motorbike, backhoe?

25th June Day of the Seafarer

The Day of the Seafarer (25 June) was established  2010 to honour the vital contribution that seafarers make to global trade and the economy, frequently at considerable personal sacrifice to themselves and their families.

In 2023, the campaign will look at seafarers' contribution to protecting the marine environment. They spend a great deal of time at sea and are a big part of the solution when it comes to protecting the marine environment. 

'Seafarer' is not a common word and not one that young children are likely to use in their everyday speech unless they know someone who is a seafarer. You can define a seafarer as literally being someone who is employed to serve aboard any type of marine vessel. It is their job to work on boats and they are paid to do so.

Here for my purposes, today's blog will highlight ships and boats, rather than the people who work on them. Young children borrow books about trains, planes and boats from the library. I have written about planes and trains before so today it is time for boats to shine. The library has a good collection of books about boats and stories that feature boats. See the Pinterest page.

My son was boat mad as a child and is still boat mad as an adult. He is now a marine mechanic and spends every day on boats. I watch in awe as he parks a very large motor boat in what seems like a tiny space or explains how the multiple boat engines work.

His favourite book was Salty Dog by Gloria Rand and when it came to giving his picture books away that one had to stay. He took it on sleepovers, he took it as a teenager when he went to babysit to read to his charges. I was pleasantly surprised to see it is still in print and available to buy. The owner of Salty Dog is a boatbuilder who gets the ferry to work everyday, sometimes taking his dog, but not always which does not please Salty.

He would have liked Whose Boat?  by Toni Buzzeo and Tom Froese too because it is a guessing game where you match up workers with their boats.

He would have loved Boats Fast and Slow  by Iris Volant and Jarom Vogel if it had existed when he was young. This book allows children to learn about the history of boat building, about famous boats and technological advances. 

I remember reading Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain by Edward Ardizzone to a Year 2 class who were looking at life in their grandparents' time. This book had been reissued for its eightieth anniversary. The students sat riveted as I read and at the end we talked about the differences between their lives and Tim's. While they could see that it was a great adventure they were nervous when only Tim and the Captain were left on the ship. The thing that worried them most was that he had gone on an adventure alone without parent permission, but then students said things like well so do the children in the Famous Five and Secret Seven series. It made for a great discussion and many questions to ask grandparents.

My favourite boat books are 'slower and calmer' as I am not a boat lover.  Little Bear's Boat and Big Bear's Boat  by Eve Bunting and Nancy Carpenter epitomise what it means to be happy with your lot.

A Kindergarten boy who visits the library asked me about tug boat books. Initially I wondered what I would give him, but now I know there are some:

Little Tug by Stephen Savage, I'm Mighty  by Kate and Jim McMullan Boats are Busy by Sara Gillingham and Anchored by Debra Tidball and Arielle Li will make a good start and they are all in our library.

In 1933 The United States Congress established National Maritime Day to honor the important contributions of the maritime industry. The date of May 22 was chosen to commemorate the 1819 voyage of the steamship Savannah from the United States to England, which marked the first successful crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by steam power. I haven't written about this day before either so if you want to save your boat and ship display till May you can.

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” So says the Water Rat to Mole in Kenneth Grahame’s “The Wind in the Willows.” While this has become a cliche, for some young children and even adults, boats do hold a great fascination and there is nothing better than messing around in boats!