#567 of 1001 · February 18, 2022

Today I’ve got a stunningly executed realistic fiction adventure for you: @sophieblackall’s Hello Lighthouse. The book begins with a tiny island on the edge of the world. On this island stands a lighthouse. When the old lighthouse keeper’s service comes to an end, a new keeper arrives to take his place. Deftly weaving together text and illustrations, Blackall finds subtle ways to communicate the passing of time, detailing natural phenomena (storms, fog, ice, migrating whales, aurora borealis) and major life events (the arrival of the keeper’s wife, the keeper’s serious illness, the birth of their baby, the baby’s growth into a young child). Through it all, the story is punctuated by the lyrical refrain, “Hello!/…Hello!/…Hello!” Finally, the lighthouse is automated and the keeper’s family is able to return to life on the mainland, where they can still look out across the water and view their old island home from their front door. #hello #lighthouse #island #ocean #sea #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks