Hello Lighthouse Review by Stephanie Mihalik

Hello Lighthouse Review by Stephanie Mihalik

1.      Bibliography

Blackall, Sophie. Hello Lighthouse. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2018.  ISBN  9780316362382

2.     Plot Summary

Hello Lighthouse, by Sophie Blackall, begins with the careful, orderly adventure of a lighthouse keeper who dutifully performs his work of shining his light out into the sea in the face of variable weather and heavy loneliness.  Holding on to hope, he keeps the lighthouse shining out into the world, “HELLO! …HELLO! …HELLO!” and continues to write and send messages in bottles to his love.  At long last, she joins him, and they are immensely happy together, weathering a shipwreck and rescue, his serious illness, and the unassisted birth of their precious baby girl.  Their life is magical and other-worldly.  They are unified and shining.  When word arrives from the coast guard that a mechanical light fixture will be installed and his services are no longer needed, they are visibly alarmed.  Yet, he transitions with poise, completing with dignity and steadfastness his final duties in the lighthouse.  The man and his family bid farewell to the life they loved, and they traveled to the shore, anchored and new.  The final illustration reveals their collective commitment to keep shining their lights, performing their duties with love, in this generation and in the ones yet to come.

3.     Critical Analysis

Hello Lighthouse is a picture book rich in allegorical power.  The reader is transported through the poignant significance of the lighthouse keeper maintaining and shining the light of the lighthouse until his duties are completed.  One is left awestruck with Blackall’s skillful denouement of the beloved, young child grasping and shining her own light in response, steadily, carrying on.  Blackall’s repeated use of circle symbolism throughout the text further emphasizes the continuing on of the cycle of living our lives as well and presently as possible, through the trials and through the joys, so as to teach and inspire the generations to follow. 

Particularly artful is the use of foreshadowing in Hello Lighthouse, most notably with the ethereal image of the whale and her calf on the preceding page of the lighthouse keeper and his wife preparing for the birth of their child.  Indeed, as the whales follow their ancient inner knowing for their voyages through the seas, so do humans often follow the call to bring new life into the world to carry on the light of our love and our care.  The significance of our lives lived well, however small the scale, reverberates like the ripples of the wind-brushed sea, as we bravely answer the call, “Hello! …Hello!  Hello!”

4.     Review Excerpt(s)

2019 CALDECOTT MEDAL

From Book Links reviewer Sonja Cole:  “Old-fashioned details imbue the story with a sense of history and nostalgia that will fascinate history-loving kids, while the lavish ocean spreads will have them dreaming of the sea.”

From Publishers Weekly:  “Many spreads, delicate as painted porcelain, depict the lighthouse amid the breaking waves and changing life of the ocean…It’s a jewel of a creation and a gift to those who dream of retreat.”

From Kirkus Reviews:  “A fascinating, splendidly executed peek into both the mundane and the dramatic aspects of lighthouse life.” 

5.     Connections

Hello Lighthouse could work beautifully in a middle school or upper elementary English language/literature lesson on foreshadowing and symbolism.  Students could share out in groups and create short presentations on an example of either literary element.

A history connection could certainly be made, using nonfiction books and online resources on the history of lighthouses and on notable lighthouses, as well as an extended focus on Blackall’s expository inclusion in the end pages of the text, “About Lighthouses.”

Lighthouses for Kids:  History, Science, and Lore with 21 Activities by Katherine House, ISBN 1556527209

https://kids.kiddle.co/Lighthouse

An art lesson connection could focus in on the use of the circle in Hello Lighthouse.  Each student could create an original “circle illustration” of an image not present in the book but one that would be a feasible occurrence/situation.

A creative writing extension could be to connect with students the idea of each person “shining our lights into the world.”  What does this mean?  How can we do this by being true to who we are and pursuing our dreams in life?

A technology connection could be made by linking the logbook entries in Hello Lighthouse to an introductory Excel lesson—the modern logbook for our times. 

Also, as a science connection, a basic circuitry lesson could be taught, maker-space style:  children working in small groups could design lighthouses out of construction paper, tape, paper towel rolls, and a circuit light that they build and make operational for the top of their structures.