Ann Fearrington

Who Sees the Lighthouse? starts out well with a wonderful rhyming cadence ("Swirl around, twirl around. / The narrow beam / Slices the night. / Who sees the light?") and beautiful illustrations. The book counts different things that can see the lighthouse's beams (One sailor, two pilots, three seagulls) but it seems as though the author ran out of nautical-related items by number seven (cats). The pages featuring numbers eight and nine are even more of a stretch: ghost pirates and aliens also use the light to guide them on their way.

The unrealistic departure is made more discordant by the fact that all of the beacons pictured in the book are real United States lighthouses. Cape Hatteras Light, Heceta Head Light, Split Rock Lighthouse, Pigeon Point Light and seven other lighthouses are beautifully depicted by illustrator Giles Laroche. Young children will probably be too engaged by the colorful illustrations and rhyming text to notice the implausibility of aliens and ghosts needing a lighthouse.

http://www.bookishruth.com/2009/04/book-review-who-sees-lighthouse-by-ann.html… (mehr)