Award: Hello Lighthouse

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Award: Caldecott Award Winner 2019

Evaluation of the book:

Hello Lighthouse has some of the most gorgeous illustrations that I have ever seen in a children’s picture book. The pages alternate with an illustration of the outside of the lighthouse (always on the left page)and an illustration of the life inside of the lighthouse (always with roundness emphasized). These illustrations serve both to establish the setting - the lighthouse - and the mood - the cyclical, rhythmic, beautiful life within the lighthouse. The lighthouse keeper and his wife feel drawn to the lighthouse; the reader is drawn right into that fascination through these beautiful pages.

The cyclical language of the book also set the mood. Life is simple and rhythmic both inside and outside the lighthouse. Outside, the flashing light calls “hello, hello, hello” and inside, the lighthouse keeper “tends the light and writes in the logbook” every day, no matter what happens.The reader is drawn into this rhythm, because, if either of these stops, the story cannot go on.

The illustrations tell the story of what’s happening more than the words do; the words are cyclical and repetitive, the life that happens in the story, shown by the illustrations, is not. The lighthouse keeper’s world and routine might be small and repetitive, like the words on the page, but his life is full and beautiful, like the illustrations that show it.

Response:

What does the text have to do with you, personally?

I was born and raised in Maine and have always had a deep love for the lighthouses that litter my home state’s coast line. This book was a captivating peek into what life inside of those lighthouses might have been like back in the days of lighthouse keepers and lanterns. Needless to say, this book had me at “Hello Lighthouse.”

How well did you enjoy the text (or not) as entertainment or as a work of art?

I enjoyed every inch of this book, and will be re-reading it when I’m done writing this blog post so that I can study each and every page of beautiful illustrations and captivating, poetic language. This book is 100% a work of art that should be enjoyed by everyone.

What is your overall reaction to the text?

I loved it! There aren’t enough synonyms for “beautiful” to describe it.

Conclusion:

I recommend this as a read aloud in any setting - school, library, or home. The stunning illustrations and poetic language come together to tell a mesmerizing story of life on a lighthouse. Any child’s imagination will come alive when presented with this book.

APA Style Reference:

Blackall, S. (2018). Hello lighthouse. New York, NY: Little, Brown, and Company.