Searching the Lights Book

With the help of his grandfather, Jim researches his favorite lighthouse for a school project and in the process learns about the father he lost to the Gulf War. Includes ...

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4--Jim, who lives with his mother and grandfather on Oak Island near Charleston, SC, has a problem. He has an outline for a history project due on Monday and doesn't have a clue as to what to write about. Because his father was killed in the Gulf War, Jim doesn't want to research anything to do with war. Looking out his kitchen window at the Morris Island lighthouse, he realizes that it might make a good subject. Lo and behold, he learns that his father, who died when he was a toddler, was "one of the biggest lighthouse buffs of his generation" and had a scrapbook filled with pictures and commentary. Jim can do his project and learn about his father at the same time. The full-color artwork, done in a realistic style, shows stoic figures on flat, uncluttered backgrounds. A brief history with full-color photographs of South Carolina lighthouses is appended. This well-researched but contrived story reflects the author's interest in her subject. It will be useful regionally and to others who find these structures fascinating.--Martha Gordon, formerly at South Salem Library, NY