This book contains two of my favourite things - lighthouses and puffins. When you pick up this book begin by feeling the texture of the dust jacket. Now lift off the dust jacket because underneath is a beautiful surprise on the front and when you flip the book the image continues onto the back cover.
Benjamin Postlethwaite is the lighthouse keeper. I adore that name so I am going to say it again. Benjamin Postlethwaite lives in his lighthouse on Puffin Island.
"Not once in all his years as the lighthouse keeper had he ever let his light go out. All the sailors and seafarers that sailed or steamed past the lighthouse in the fog would hear his horn sounding, see his light guiding them through, and be grateful for it."
One stormy night, though, a four-masted schooner named the Pelican was driven on to the rocks just off the Scilly Isles.
"That night Benjamin Postlethwaite saved thirty lives, men, women and children."
One of the children was Allen Williams. The Puffin Keeper is the story of Allen and his memory of the night he and the others were rescued, his memory of being inside the lighthouse, and his memory of the lighthouse keeper.
On the walls of the lighthouse Allen saw dozens of paintings. Painting of boats in all shapes and sizes. And each painting was simply signed Ben. As Allen leaves the island and the lighthouse Benjamin Postlethwaite gifts him a small picture of a four-masted schooner just like the one he had been travelling on. This painting becomes a treasured possession and inspires Allen to try painting himself. When he finishes school Allen sets off to revisit the lighthouse. He and his mother had sent lots of letters to Benjamin over the years but sadly he never replied.
"He fetched down a shoebox from a shelf ... I opened it. It was full of letters. I took one out. It was one of the letters I had written to him, with a painted envelope. It turned out all the letters in the box were the ones I had written to him ... Not one of them had been opened. He told me why. 'I can't read,' he said. 'Never had no schooling. ... I knew they came from you, because of the ship picture on the envelope. But I couldn't read them."
The day Allen arrives, Benjamin has had two visitors. The other is a tiny lost puffin. The island with the lighthouse is called Puffin Island but no puffins have been seen there for years but this is about to change.
I loved this book. I read the whole thing in one sitting. The story by Michael Morpurgo feels like you are drinking a cup of tea and eating warm toast with heaps of butter and the illustrations by Benji Davies are utterly perfect.
Listen to an audio sample here. Here are a set of comprehensive teaching ideas. Spoiler alert - this book is actually written to celebrate Allen Williams Lane the man who founded Penguin Books in 1935 and from Penguin books we have Puffin Books too. The first four Puffin Books were published in 1940.
A book to have, to hold, to share and, to treasure. RedReadingHub
Sometimes, fate seems to bring us to certain places and people, and this heart-warming story of a lost puffin, a lonely artist and a life-changing friendship is a real testament to Morpurgo’s talent for capturing those pivotal moments in people’s lives where everything changes. Book Trust
