Letters from the Lighthouse: 'THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION' Guardian

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The crisp prose and pacey plot make this novel a joy to read. The setting of Budmouth, a coastal Devon village dominated by a lighthouse, lends atmosphere and plenty of scope for exciting adventures. I found this book full of emotions. I laughed, cried and felt anxious much of the time. My favourite character is Olive because she is adventurous and good at breaking codes. I also found the book very realistic because it is set in World War II and this book has made me hungry for more information.

After Suki's disappearance, Olive's mother fears for her children's safety and evacuates them to Devon where they stay in a lighthouse. Even though Olive is in Devon, she is determined to find out what really happened to her sister. Olive is still convinced that she is still alive somewhere. Emma really described the characters, their personalities and brought them to life. I extremely liked Olive because she reminded me of a friend from Cornwall (caring). I can really imagine living in the war from reading this book as the description can draw a picture in my mind. This fictionalised story is as memorable as Michael Morpurgo's Private Peaceful and as beautifully written as Warhorse. I thoroughly enjoyed it and could give it nothing less than 5 stars.

I did enjoy this book because I like the characters in the story. I thought that the story was interesting and that the history in the book was believable. I found the history about World War II interesting and it encouraged me to try to find out more. The book revolves around Olive’s persistent efforts to solve the mystery of why her sister has disappeared and piece together the clues to find her. Why is it a good book to study in KS2? Emma Carroll is said to be the queen of middle grade historical fiction. One book down and a handful more to go, and I��m already agreeing with this statement! Adult characters initially treat a downed German pilot in a threatening manner, including spitting at him. I felt transported into World War II: the rushing when there was an air-raid siren, why some children wanted to be evacuated and why some children did not, living with rationing and experiencing different lifestyles once evacuated.

Bombing and subsequent hospitalisation feature in the first few chapters. These paint a grim picture of the war, but remain suitable for younger children and should not cause any problems for your class.

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With a rich cast of village characters and a theme of prejudice and acceptance, it brings history close to us, Sunday Times Summer Reading This book was very enjoyable to read. Emma Carroll explains all of the characters in great depth and each character is unique in some sort of way. The main theme of this book is how peopole have to leave home to fight for their country but Olive soon realises that her father isn't coming home. After being evacuated, Olive and her brother Cliff are evacuated to Devon and the only place available is a lighthouse. To try and be helpful she becomes a postman and starts sending secret messages to her sister Suki who was lost in an air raid, but she finds a code which she is convinced relates to her but how far will she go for her sister?

The story is set in WW2, February 1941, about a young girl named Olive and her brother(Cliff) whose big sister gets lost and are evacuated to Devonshire to live in a light house on Devon's edge with a mysterious lighthouse keeper. There, Olive has to solve a mystery of her own: a strange coded letter holding very important information which seems to link her sister (Sukie) with Devon and to something important and impossibly dangerous. The historical information I have learnt from this book is that Jews were not given permission to evacuate to any country. Only some countries gave permission. Without being preachy, the story also encompasses the themes of empathy, tolerance and kindness; such important messages in our current world. I would recommend this book for anyone of 9 and above; I will certainly be buying a copy for my school's library. I think that there are a few world leaders who would benefit from reading it too! This book is about a brother and sister, Cliff and Olive, who are evacuated from London to Budmouth Point during the Second World War. Their older sister Sukie is missing and no one knows if she's still alive. Why was Sukie dressed up like her mother when she disappeared? Olive is 10, and she is dertemend to find out what happend to her sister. Sukie is Olives sister, who goes missing one night during an air raid. Cliff, who is 7, is Olive's younger brother. Ephtaim is the mysterious lighthouse keeper. They are evacuated to Devon where they try to solve the mystery of their missing sister.Letters from the Lighthouse will appeal to readers of all dispositions, as Carroll ensures the historical elements never overwhelm the story, which is as accessible as anything set in modern times. That said, Letters From the Lighthouse will also sit nicely with other classic second World War tales, like Nina Bawden's Carrie's War and, more recently, Shirley Hughes's Whistling in the Dark., Irish Times I enjoyed this book because it is set in the war and it gives you the feel of what it was like to be in it. My favourite character was Olive because she had a lot of courage and she did things for other people that needed help. She was always looking after her little brother Cliff even though it was tough. When I had read this book, it made me want to read lots more like it because it made you feel as if you were one of the characters. This book made me feel like I wanted to research the war and find out the little things that I did not realise about it. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes lighthouses and coded messages. Scrisori din far” este o istorie de viață de care te îndrăgostești încă de la prima pagină și pe care ajungi să o porți în suflet mult timp după ce închizi ultima filă. Autoarea creează o adevărată feerie de poveste, desprinsă din timpuri în care camaraderia și respectul pentru om, indiferent de rasă, naționalitate și religie era încă o virtute în sine. Ea aduce în prim-plan personaje diverse, cu accentul pus pe o copilă, care învață pe propria sa piele ce înseamnă toleranța și într-ajutorarea celor din jur, aflați în necaz. Emma Caroll ne poartă pașii până în anul 1941, când Londra pare a fi în flăcări, căci nemții aruncă peste ea bombe peste bombe. Tocmai de aceea, părinții își trimit copiii singuri, în zonele rurale, pentru a îi salva un pic de la toată trauma pe care o provoacă un război de o asemenea amploare. Romanul acesta, atât de potrivit pentru copii și adolescenți pentru a afla ce a însemnat cel de Al Doilea Război Mondial și ce suferințe a provocat, este unul plin de aventură, de mister întreținut prin intermediul unor coduri secrete, dar și unul despre a fi om chiar și în timpuri grele, despre umanitate, comunitate, acceptare, toleranță, iubire de aproape, prietenie, compasiune, creare de legături născute din suferințe mari și bunătate arătată tuturor, indiferent dacă sunt prieteni sau dușmani. Tocmai prin acest mesaj și această uriașă lecție de viață încântă sufletele cititorilor săi autoarea: I especially enjoyed this book because I have such an interest for World War II. I would recommend this book to history lovers and gutsy people.

Emma Carroll clearly put a lot of research into writing Letters from the Lighthouse. It lends itself very well to teaching a WWII topic to a class, as the prolific use of wartime terminology and speech does a fantastic job of educating the reader on specific aspects of the war. I read through the book beforehand and then timed my teaching to coincide with the book so that my children were able to better visualise what I was teaching them. Class Comments Along the way she meets a variety of both friendly and unpleasant characters and not all of them are what they seem. In this book, there were not a lot of illustrations but the ones there were, were thorough and detailed to help visualise the story. I really liked this book because it was full of mysteries. But the only thing I didn't like about it was that when all the exciting bits ended there wasn't much happening for 3 or 4 paragraphs. My favourite character was Sukie because she really wants to help with this plan to save people, who live in other countries where the war is really bad. The other characters who are in the book are: Olive, Cliff, Ephraim, Pixie (the dog),Mum and Gloria. I thought the book showed the history of the war very well but I think it is more suitable for older children because as we know the war was a difficult time and a lot of people died. This showed me what it was like in the war. My favourite part was when they found a suitcase from one of the people that her sister was trying to save. The book was quite grabbing for me and I would definitely recommend this book to other people who like history like me.A gripping adventure...interwoven with a plea to welcome refugees with generosity, rather than mistrust., Guardian Lovereading4kids are big fans of Emma’s books. Her stories continue to delight and move me, and Letters from the Lighthouse does not disappoint at all. Initially, I didn't want to read a WW2 book, but having read it, I'm really glad that I did and it has left me in the mood for more Emma Carroll books. It gave me a feel for WW2 and the contrast between countryside and city life. I think it should be for aged 9 and above as it would go over the heads of younger children. It was accurate, clever and intriguing, and it also was fun and had a satisfying ending. I highly recommend it. Strong, loving and resourceful, Olive is driven to extraordinary acts of courage by her sense of responsibility to her family, like the way she fiercely protects her little brother. February, 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, twelve-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast. The only person with two spare beds is Mr Ephraim, the local lighthouse keeper. But he's not used to company and he certainly doesn't want any evacuees.