Lightship (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Lightship Elizabeth Bush Floca, Brian Lightship; written and illus. by Brian Floca. Jackson/Atheneum, 200740p ISBN 1-4169-2436-1$16.99 R 5-8 yrs What could possibly be the raison d'être of a ship that puts out to sea and then, well, stays put ("She holds to one sure spot as other ships sail by. She waits")? As Floca guides his audience on a tour of the Ambrose, viewers begin to understand just what she's waiting for—the need to warn passing vessels that danger is imminent. Most of her time is spent in patience, keeping the engines and crew in working order, keeping the anchor in position, and dodging (with the occasional salvo of salty verbiage: "#@*%&!") the huge cargo ships that barrel down upon her closer than they should. But "when the fog comes creeping in, the crew knows what to do. They sound their horn so loud the whole ship SHAKES" ("BEEOOH," says the sound bubble for the horn in huge letters) so the other ships at sea will navigate past underwater perils and safely into port. While the prose unreels in graceful simplicity, line-and-watercolor paintings capture the inner working of the Ambrose and the changeable environment in which she stands guard. Even the endpapers are worth close inspection, featuring a labeled cutaway view of the Ambrose, from the deck hoist fore to the gin rummy game aft. Listeners are bound to be so caught up in the immediacy of the present-tense narration that Floca's revelation in a concluding note may come as a bit of a disappointment—the last lightship station was closed down in 1983. Still, there's always room in the picture-book collection for books about heroes past or present, and these guys will stand up (okay, float) with the best of them. Copyright © 2007 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois