Kate's Light

Kate Walker at Robbins Reef Lighthouse

Kate's Light
Elizabeth Spires
RRP:
NZ$ 48.00
Our Price:
NZ$ 38.40
Hardback
Not defined - 40pg
5 Jan 2021 US
International import eta 7-19 days
9780823443482
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order

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9780823451272 US Paperback $24.00

When Kate Kaird immigrated with her young son Jacob from Germany to America in 1882, she couldn' t have predicted the surprising turn her life would take. She soon met and married John Walker, keeper of the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. They moved to Robbins Reef Lighthouse in New York Harbor in 1885 and she became assistant keeper. At first Kate wondered if she could live in such a lonely place, but she gradually grew to love life at Robbins Reef. When her husband died several years later, she was determined to stay on. After convincing the Lighthouse Board that she could do the job alone, Kate was appointed permanent keeper of the lighthouse, becoming one of the first women on the Eastern seaboard to be put in charge of an offshore lighthouse. She lived there 34 years and was known for her many rescues. With wispy illustrations which perfectly capture the salty spray of the sea, Kate' s Light brings the turn of the century New York Harbor to life, with a focus on one of its little known but most crucial attendants.
Caldecott Medalist McCully' s vivid ink and watercolor spreads bring to life the storms and waves that made Walker' s work necessary, and brim with visual information about the lighthouse and the people who depended on it. Chapter book-style writing by Spires (The Big Meow) provides ample context and many anecdotes. An intrepid heroine in a lonely place, Walker had grit that makes for gripping reading. --Publishers Weekly Spires emphasizes the hardships of this lifestyle (five-story living quarters accessible only by ladder, no electricity or indoor plumbing); its physical demands (caring for the lamps and sirens, conducting rescues via rowboat, ringing the station' s bell in the fog); and the sheer isolation of living at sea. McCully' s illustrations, rendered in pen, ink, and watercolor, help to bring this setting and time period to life for younger readers. . . . Appended with further information and sources, this makes a good addition to women' s history units. --Booklist
Elizabeth Spires is a poet and has written several books for children, including The Mouse of Amherst. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland, where she teaches at Goucher College. Emily Arnold McCully has illustrated many books for children including Mirette on the High Wire which received a Caldecott Medal. She lives in Old Chatham, New York.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9780823443482
Published: 5 Jan 2021
Published In: United States
Imprint: Holiday House Inc
Publisher: Holiday House Inc
Format: Hardback
Height: 1mm
Width: 1mm
Spine: 1mm
Weight: 1g
Pages: 40

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