The Lighthouse Keeper's Rescue

The Lighthouse Keeper

by Ronda Armitage, David Armitage

When Mr. Grinling, an elderly lighthouse keeper, begins falling asleep before he turns on the lighthouse's light, he fears he will lose his job

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Ronda Armitage is the author of many children’s books, including the Lighthouse Keeper series.
She attended University of Auckland, 1963, 1969, and Massey University, 1965; Hamilton Teacher's College, certificate of teaching, 1963, diploma of teaching, 1969.
She lives in England with her husband, illustrator, David. They have two children.

Reviews

[Hayley Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written tale about a lighthouse keeper who was struggling to stay awake and switch the light on in the lighthouse. The inspectors were not happy and mr grinling lost his job. That was until he and his wife's heroic act.
Very well illustrated.
This book could be utilised within science lessons to discuss night and day, how light travels. It could also be used within geography to discuss why we have lighthouses, recognising costal features.

[Rebecca Kurien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this story so heartbreaking yet heartwarming. As an adult i felt for the Grindlings. Growing old isn't kind to anyone, especially those who are forced out of work. But the story turns into an uplifting tale (pun intended) . My child was enthralled from start to finish and the situation surrounding the giant sperm whale was endlessly fascinating to him.

[Mr H · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not good. Dad said it was written like they were seventy.
We particularly like the way he lost his job because he was unable to effectively do it anymore, then did something good completely unrelated to his field of work and magically got his job back.
Mum and Dad assured me that this is not reality 🤣

[Fatima Seraj Alam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows the heartbreaking reality of being old to do your job properly. I enjoy happy endings and I have a soft spot for the Grinlings but I wish the ending was more realistic and they move on to new places and how they adjust and settle:”.

[Nikky Cassidy · Rating 2 out of 5]

sweet well written little story

[J and E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite a nice story, but lacks the humour of the 'The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch'.

[Dana Al-Basha | دانة الباشا · Rating 5 out of 5]

God, I cried reading a children's book! To be poor and old and without help or children is so heartbreaking, I really felt for Mr. Grinling, he started to snooze sometimes and forgot to light the lighthouse, so he loses his job AND his home... but then he rescues a whale and so they give him half his job with a young worker.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

There comes a time in every reader’s life when she finds she must bend the rules. Of course we want to read all of the 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. And we start this challenge with great resolve.

But our resolve slowly weakens as we confront impossible walls. Some of these books are not available in any public libraries in the United States. Some of these books are completely out of print. Some of these books are only available in Swedish.

What is a reader to do?

In the case of The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch by Ronda and David Armitage, which I learned was no where to be found, I was forced to find a book in the same series. I am quite certain that Lunch is a vastly superior book to Rescue, but one must do what one must do.

Rescue is the tale of Mr. Grinling, the lighthouse keeper, who lives with his wife and cat in a beautiful cottage near his workplace. Mr. Grinling has a big problem, however; he keeps falling asleep before he can prepare the light for the night. As you might imagine, this is a very serious problem for a lighthouse keeper and it gets him into a great deal of trouble which, in the way of books for young children, is easily resolved.

(If you are curious, the real 1001 book, Lunch, has at its heart the difficulty Mr. Grinling faces of keeping pesky seagulls from eating his lunch. The question arises, as it must: Is a story about a lighthouse keeper who can’t stop seagulls from eating his lunch really the better story, a better tale than that of a man who compulsively falls asleep on the job, endangering the lives of all those asea around him?)

A 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up.

[Kareem Mckenzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Lighthouse keeper goes through a range of ups and downs during this book. Mr G cannot stop himself from falling asleep, and as a result he ends up losing his job. As the mood of this book was beginning to go on a downer, Mr G was provided with an opportunity to take his mind off things, which ultimately ended up in him getting his job back. This book would be a good read for young children, in addition illustrations were very interesting.