The Storm (The Lighthouse Family)

We read a lot and have struggled to find the right chapter books to read out loud to our 6 (almost 7) year old. He can read the Magic Tree House series on his own now, so we were looking for something slightly more advanced in terms of vocabulary and number of words on a page to read TO him. Many of the books we've tried have had subject matter too dark for a 6 year old (Lemony Snicket, Winn-Dixie, Edward Tulane, Swiss Family Robinson early classic version, etc. - they all seem to include kids or parents dying). This book was perfect. It included just enough new words for his vocabulary - not so many to make the story difficult to understand but enough to stretch his mind a bit. :-) The story itself had the perfect balance of drama/adventure and simple peace and goodness. I don't know just how to explain this, but the book itself just has a cozy feeling...it makes me want to snuggle up close to my son for an old-fashioned wholesome read. I was surprised at how different this was in writing style from Rylant's books for younger readers (Henry and Mudge, Mr. Putter and Tabby). We liked those too, but the style here is much different. It's not just a longer story. The words chosen give the sense that she carefully crafted each page. I can't say enough about how much we loved this book and are looking forward to reading the others in the series. I think the vocabulary would make this a little tougher for our almost-5 year old, so I'd recommend this for 6-9 year olds, depending on whether you're reading TO them or whether they're reading these on their own.

My son needed this for school. Him and I were pleasantly surprised. Its a good book, and I ordered the 2nd book in the series bc he enjoyed it so much. I also read it. I cried at the end lol. Definitely recommend this book. Girls and boys would enjoy it.

I have a rising 2nd grader (just turned 7) who reads Magic Treehouse easily and would be content to stick with that, but I have been feeling like it isn't challenging her to grow her reading skills. This book has much more challenging words, and still has short chapters, so it isn't too overwhelming for her. We alternate back and forth between her reading a chapter and me reading a chapter. This is a really sweet story and she is surprising herself with what she's able to read.

We loved this book. So wholesome with good life lessons about serving others, bravery and being content with what God has lead you to. Read with our 2nd grader and our 3rd grader was able to zip through quite easily on her own

My 4 year old daughter is obsessed with families. She just loves this story. It is very cute and wholesome. Highly recommend. I actually bought the book for my 6 year old and she liked it too.

My 7-year old daugther enjoyed the book and wrote a book report for her class. She loves animials so that the story about a dog, a cat and three mice was really good for her. The pictures in the book aren't color, and the story doesn't have much humor either. Very enjoyable for a 2nd grader.

My daughter an I were very excited to finally get this book. Price was perfect and the little story is too! We love it! We read my father's dragon series, then wanted to find something just as good. And so far so good. My daughter is 6 and we try to read every night. We recommend this book! I have a feeling I should hurry and order the next one in series. Lol

Cynthia Rylant is a marvelous author and obviously quite prolific. She is the author of the "Poppleton," "Henry and Mudge," and the "Cobble Street Cousins," series as well as numerous other books. I bought this particular series for my nieces (ages 4 and 7). They are short, almost novellas, but Rylant does not "talk down" to her audience instead exposing our young ones to higher level vocabulary. The adventures the Lighthouse Family have, especially the three orphaned/adopted young mice, are exciting, but quiet; no extreme violence, fearful chases or shoot 'em up. They make great bedtime reading.

離れ小島でひとり灯台を守るPandora（ネコ）。 灯台に命を救われた経験から自分の仕事と定め、孤独な中で人知れず荒天から船を守る仕事を続けて4年。 そろそろ灯台守としての気持ちが揺らいできます。 そんなとき、嵐の後に船乗りのSeabold（イヌ）が流れ着きます。 やはり、嵐の中でPandoraの灯台からの灯りと警笛に命を救われたのです。 今まで海が恋しくなるため、陸にいついたことのないSeaboldですが、ケガのためPandoraのもとでしばらく暮らすことになり、不思議な心地よさを覚えます。 そんな中、ある嵐の日にふたりはまた命を助けることになります。 灯台守としてのPandoraの穏やかさ、芯の強さ、寂しさが助けた者たちによってどんなふうに育って行くのか、あたたかい気持ちで見守りたくなりシリーズです。 挿し絵もまたすばらしい。 Rylantらしい、人間愛（動物愛？）にあふれた物語です。

I bought this book to read to my children during an ocean unit we were doing for school. It's an adorable story about a cat, Pandora, who lives and works in a lighthouse and a dog, Seabold, who loves the sea. Pandora nurses him back to health after he is caught in a storm and ends up on the shore near the lighthouse. I was unsure when we began the book whether we would be interested in continuing with the series, but by the end we were all invested in their story and look forward to buying the next book. Highly recommend!

海を通して出会った者が家族になる物語です。 孤独な土地で一人灯台を守るPandora。 Dutyという言葉の意味をこの本で改めて認識しました。 美しい挿絵も素晴らしい作品です。

I was recommended to get this book by a friend who said her two grand-daughters (5 and 7) asked for it more than any other for a bed-time story. My own grand-daughter (9) adores animals and anthropomorphic versions in stories so this was ideal for her. She could not wait for it to be read aloud but devoured it herself at a sitting.