Lightship: with audio recording

by Brian Floca

You may never have heard of a lightship.

Once, lightships anchored on waters across America, on the oceans and in the Great Lakes, floating where lighthouses could not be built. Smaller than most ships, but more steadfast, too, they held their spots, through calm and storm, to guide sailors toward safe waters.

In these pages one lightship and her crew (and cat) again hold their place. The crew goes again from bow to stern, from keel to mast, to run their engines, shine their lights, and sound their horns.

They run the small ship that guides the large ships. They are the crew (and cat) that work to make the ocean safe, that hold their place, so other ships can sail.

Come aboard!

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, History, American History, Historical, Juvenile

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 6, 2007

About the author

Brian Floca is the author-illustrator of the Caldecott Medal winner Locomotive, the Robert F. Sibert Honor books Moonshot and Lightship, and other picture books, and is the illustrator of many more books for young readers. Brian Floca lives and works in Brooklyn.

Reviews

[(NS) - Heather Hayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This powerful story, written by Brian Floca, is an actual nonfiction account of a lightship, which was once anchored across America. It travelled to places where lighthouses were impossible to be built in order to guide ships into safer water. The illustrations literally make you feel as though you are one of the crewmen, where life is depicted aboard one of these vessels. Whether they are cooking, sleeping or working, you become a part of their daily operation. This book also brings to life the hazards involved and is fascinating to every child who ever showed interest in the sea.

The illustrations are so gripping in this book that you are simply drawn to it. It is not only filled with wonderful text, but is extremely educational as well. Fabulous nonfiction material for primary grades is not always easy to find, but this is a must on the list for any classroom library. Any kid with any type of interest in maritime topics will be fully engaged in this book time and again.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author-artist Brian Floca, whose other non-fiction picture-books include the Caldecott Medal-winning Locomotive , as well as the gorgeous Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 , turns here to the subject of lightships, small vessels that held their place in the sea, functioning as lighthouses in places where lighthouses could not be built. The text explores life on board a lightship, and looks at the various crew members and their diverse tasks, while the watercolor artwork depicts the ship and crew performing their important function in circumstances both safe and dangerous.

I'd never heard of lightships before picking up Floca's picture-book, although it makes perfect sense, now that I think about it, that mariners would need such a service. Lightship is both educational and entertaining, pairing a simple but informative text that will keep young reader/listeners engaged with appealing artwork. For my part, my favorite 'character' was the ship's cat! The decorative end-papers provide a depiction of a lightship, with all the important parts labeled, while a foreword and afterword give more detailed information, both about lightships in general, and about the sources Floca used to create his book. Recommended to all young boat and seafaring enthusiasts, and to anyone looking for children's stories that explore interesting aspects of maritime history that might otherwise not have been addressed.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent description of the old lightships that used to lead ships safely into harbor without moving. A good narrative nonfiction read aloud with plenty of details to help you understand the subject. Read to K-2 students. Several made the connection with lighthouses.

[Garret Lehkamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provided a well paced, informational book about a lesser known water vessel. The inside covers give a detailed illustration of the vessel described in the text. The illustrations throughout help guide the reader's learning of the different jobs on the ship.

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never heard of lightships and this was a delightful introduction!

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Looking for an informational picture book that shows how important lightships were? Lightship by Brian Floca is a Robert Siebert Award winning nonfiction text that breaks down the ship and each persons job description. Located in the front flap, is a diagram of a ship for students to reference as they read the text. The media the illustrator uses consists of watercolors and pen. In one double one spread, the illustrator shows what the ship looks like on the water, with people working. The author describes the ship as “she” giving life to the idea of the skip being hard at work as well. Lastly, another spread that is moving to the reader is when the waves come crashing on the boat. This shows the struggle that they faced, navigating the always changing water patterns. This book was very informative, I couldn't put this down!

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Lightship was used to mark navigational where it wasn't possible to build a lighthouse. They no longer exist.
This book is well illustrated with friendly colors. The text was simple but interesting. Also, the author's note at the beginning and end inform the reader (parent or teacher) so that the child can learn even more background about these historic ships. My husband loved the book and we both wished we had owned it when our kids were little.
Even with the simplicity of the book - this might be a nice visual history to accompany units about the ocean or ships. As I read it, I kept thinking about the little lightships as symbols of hope and light - perhaps the book could represent such a theme to older students.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I didn't love this quite as much as Floca's "Moonshot" this is a very nice tribute to the lightships that helped protect other ships at sea for many years before they were retired thanks to newer technology. I really didn't know anything about the lightships--basically, a ship very different than every other ship--it isn't meant to travel, it must stay fixed, a floating lighthouse. Floca does a wonderful job, in few words and personable illustrations, of conveying the special spirit of those who served on lightships. An author's note at the end explains more details and the overall history of lightships.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued by Brian Floca's Lightship because they are mentioned several times in Arthur Ransome's Peter Duck which is part of the Swallows and Amazons series. I didn't have a good understanding of what they do until I read Floca's book. And he even slips in some tribute to Edward Ardizzone to the delight of observant fans. He is one of my new favorite authors. Check out his other books like Locomotive and Moonshot.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific book about a vessel i'd not heard of - lightships. Floating lighthouses required to wait in place no matter the weather. Floca's writing builds suspense.

Why do they wait?

[Jennifer Sommer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lightships—floating lighthouses—were retired in 1983, but they live on in Floca’s beautiful picture book, which uses simple words and repeated phrases to emphasize the vessels’ purpose and uniqueness as well as their day-to-day operation. “Here is a ship that holds her place,” begins the text, which takes children on a sensory tour of the Ambrose, complete with the slapping of the waves on the hull, the rocking motion of the ship, the smell of the sea and of fuel, and—in one climactic blast that sends the ship’s cat leaping straight up into the air—the sounding of the foghorn. Meanwhile, the ink-and-watercolor illustrations offer close-ups of the crew at work as well as wide, double-page scenes of passing ships (including the SSArdizzone). Varied in composition and perspective, the art shows the little ship inside and out, in summer and winter, in calm and stormy weather. Some pictures include elements of humor, while other scenes are notable for their quiet beauty. Floca explains in an informative note that before it was possible to build platforms in deep water, lightships served as floating lighthouses, using powerful lights and blaring foghorns to signal other ships. The endpapers show a cutaway view of the ship. This book was just awarded a 2008 Siebert Honor for one of the best informational books written in 2007. Written in picture book format, even the youngest readers will enjoy this one.

[Leah D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Nonfiction--Sibert Award Winner
Awards: Sibert Award
Audience: Grades K-2
A. This book is about the purpose of lightships. In the middle of the ocean where lighthouses can't be built lightships are put in place of them.
B. There are few words and straight to the point storyline. The author only talks about the purpose of these ships and doesn't add other aspects of them. Not only that, but there were a lot of pictures placed in the book that really assist in the understanding of the story.
C. This book has a few nonfiction book features within it. There is a map/diagram of a lightship in the beginning and end of the book. It allows readers to see the layout and features that were on the boat. Although this isn't a specific feature in nonfiction books, but there is an author's note at the end of the book. It allows readers to understand more about the role that lightships played.
D. This book could be used in the classroom for an introduction to a history lesson. It could be used when learning about the Titanic. It's sister ship hit a lightship when traveling.

[Paige Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lightship by Brian Floca is a non-fiction story that depicts the true story of lightships and their purpose. The Robert F. Sibert honor book encapsulates all the jobs on the boat, information about the boat, and what it is used for in a way that is digestible for young readers. One enjoyable spread is pages 2 and 3, where the book goes over all of the crew members of the ship- including a cat. Another spread I enjoy is pages 18 and 19 when a smaller boat almost hits the lightship and gets angry. There are lots of little details in each of the illustrations to entice the reader to learn about the ship. In the back matter of the book, there is an author’s note, where you can find more information about lightships. This is a lovely information picture book for children interested in boats and ships.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up on the mouth of the Columbia River and saw the historic lightship (oh so imaginatively named Columbia) docked at the maritime museum every day as I traveled through town. So I knew I was going to have a soft spot for this book at soon as I spotted it at the library.

The story is just an introduction to what a lightship dos but it's written in a 'show not tell' style that is more engaging than just the facts. It's not until nearly end of the story do we get to see the lightship in action. The ink and watercolor illustrations brought to mind a crew member documenting his life in a moleskine notebook- detailed and intimate. The ship's cat was my little one's favorite detail- pointing him out whenever he appeared.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Floca's illustrations are precise and detailed, without losing the action and emotion of the people, or in this case, the cat. I appreciate the readability of this, the text has a good rhythm and some refrains that make it a good choice for a readaloud, and yet there is a lot of information and detail in the text, too, and even more in the front and back notes. A fascinating documentation of a bygone institution, it might be of interest to those who enjoyed Sophie Blackall's Hello Lighthouse. There's human interest and history stuffed in these pages. And a cat.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before machines were built that could float in places that needed a lighthouse but where a lighthouse couldn't be built, there were lightships. Floca tells what life was like for a crew on a lightship and the important role they played on the seas.

There's a group of young readers absolutely fascinated by any kind of transportation. This is a good nonfiction pick for those readers who think they've read about all the cars, planes, and boats out there. The book also serves to record for modern memory a historic service that has faded from common knowledge.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Similar to another of his books, Locomotive, this story is about an important element of the 1800s transportation advancements. In the 1820's these lightships were stationed around the major port routes to help larger passenger and cargo ships find their way and avoid underwater perils. This book is simple, beautifully illustrated and educational. It is a great addition to any reading pile.

[Hannah Dahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lower primary/upper primary
Informational

I am a big fan of Brian Floca's books. I liked this one in particular, because I never even thought about this concept before. I always just assumed that there were just lighthouses where it was needed, so there was no need for a Lightship. I think that this book would be loved by a student that is interested in water and boats, or even used in a unit for littles about transportation. I enjoyed reading this book, as well as looking at the illustrations.

[Iris Perez]

The story begins by describing the lightship, and all that makes her up as a boat. It discusses what goes into what a ship needs. The mentions the captain, crew, and what it does. It does not carry passengers or products. It describes what the crew does and how they do what they do. I like how the story demonstrates the illustrations that demonstrate more to the text. With this book students can learn about retelling about the information about the book and its meaning.

[Makenna Eash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nonfiction Informational
Grades PreK-3
This book was beautiful! The illustrations were phenomenal and the book was so informative. I had no idea that there were ships designated to be anchored in one place to illuminate the way for other ships like a lighthouse! The author's note at the end provided even more information and I loved that the very back of the book has an illustrated ship with diagrams to show different parts of a lightship. I liked this book a lot!

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing my read of Sibert winners and honors. This is one of the shorter siberts, a children's picture book. I got a chance to visit the Lightship Columbia in Astoria, Oregon. This book rang true to what I remembered from that visit. The text and the art captures a bit of history that is basically gone. The art isn't exactly historic, but captures the flavor of the truth. And there's a short afterword.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up going to visit my grandma near the St. Clair River in Michigan, and those trips were never complete without a good long stint literally watching the river itself, keeping track of the freighters we saw going up and down (ALWAYS a good day if we saw multiple ships, and even better if we saw a 1000-footer), and inevitably a glimpse of the lightship Huron, too. This is a good, kid-friendly look at the history and function of lightships, plus a little nostalgia for me.

[Rachel Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Floca creates some cool children’s lit that show distinct characteristics of ships and other locomotives and mechanical things. Students who fancy mechanics of any kind get to dive into a deeper look at the creations that fascinate them and their purpose. I like this one especially because it’s unique and introduces readers to a particular ship they may have not heard of.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Informational Nonfiction
Grade: K-3

You could spend so much time just looking at the pictures even without the words. The words are in simple sentences but still include a lot of information. Brian Floca uses beautiful pen and watercolor pictures to illustrate his writing. I especially like the diagrams on the endpages.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love finding quality non-fiction picture books for my boys. So many of the fact-based non-fiction books are super short and uninspiring. LIGHTSHIP has engaging illustrations with a central narrative that unfolds as the reader learns about the ship and her crew.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic little book. One-sitting read-aloud about lightships. I learned a lot and was fascinated. Make sure you read the last page, where Floca explains lightships in more detail and tells when the last US one ended it’s duty. I was shocked!

[Justine]

Title: Lightship
Author: Brian Floca
Genre: Sibert Medal
Theme(s): Loyalty, companionship, teamwork
Opening line/sentence: “Here is a ship that holds her place.”

Brief Book Summary: Lightship is an informational book that takes readers on a journey. Ambrose is a ship that holds her place. She is a lightship that keeps the night sea lit up. The books is about the crew and the hardships that come and go when floating in the sea.

Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (Starred Review):
What could possibly be the raison d'être of a ship that puts out to sea and then, well, stays put (“She holds to one sure spot as other ships sail by. She waits”)? As Floca guides his audience on a tour of the Ambrose, viewers begin to understand just what she’s waiting for—the need to warn passing vessels that danger is imminent. Most of her time is spent in patience, keeping the engines and crew in working order, keeping the anchor in position, and dodging (with the occasional salvo of salty verbiage: “#@*%&!”) the huge cargo ships that barrel down upon her closer than they should. But “when the fog comes creeping in, the crew knows what to do. They sound their horn so loud the whole ship SHAKES” (“BEEOOH,” says the sound bubble for the horn in huge letters) so the other ships at sea will navigate past underwater perils and safely into port. While the prose unreels in graceful simplicity, line-and-watercolor paintings capture the inner working of the Ambrose and the changeable environment in which she stands guard. Even the endpapers are worth close inspection, featuring a labeled cutaway view of the Ambrose, from the deck hoist fore to the gin rummy game aft. Listeners are bound to be so caught up in the immediacy of the present-tense narration that Floca’s revelation in a concluding note may come as a bit of a disappointment—the last lightship station was closed down in 1983. Still, there’s always room in the picture-book collection for books about heroes past or present, and these guys will stand up (okay, float) with the best of them. EB

Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
The Horn Book:
Unlike many ships, which set sail and go interesting places, the job a lightship is to hold its place at sea. When other ships might try to avoid bad weather, it’s the job of a lightship to stay put and “sound their horn so loud the whole ship SHAKES.” Without running aground on the shoals of too much or too little information, Floca skillfully details the crew, equipment, and routine for all aboard. He’s especially good at working in extra information through pictures with a minimum of words—a dinghy approaches, with a speech balloon saying “Mail’s here!” (Speech balloons also catch the authentic flavor of seaboard dialogue, as when a larger ship comes too close and a sailor on the lightship shakes his fist and lets fly with “#@*%&!”) The watercolor-and-ink illustrations gracefully depict the beauty of the ocean on both calm and turbulent days as well as the massive vessels the lightship protects, all seen from many perspectives. Endpapers include a cross-section diagram labeling everything from the gin rummy game taking place in the stern to the anchor at the bow, and an author’s note at the end explains (in letters too tiny for most child readers) that the last U.S. lightship was retired in 1983, making the present tense of the main text a decidedly odd choice. Susan Dove Lempke.

Response to Two Professional Reviews:
I agree with the reviews in that the illustrations are very beautiful. I definitely think that the focus of the book is the illustrations because the words that accompany each page are very minimal and simple. Floca did a great job educating readers about what lightships did in a very fun, but touching way. There are a lot of emotions felt on each page about trust and teamwork.

Evaluation of Literary Elements:
One thing I really loved about this book was end pages. As soon as you open the book, there was a beautiful water color illustration of the Ambrose with each part of the ship labeled. Because this book is targeted for students ages 3-7, I think an end page such as this definitely keeps young readers interested. Rather than explaining in long text, having labels makes it easier to learn the parts of the ship. As mentioned in the section above, the text throughout the book is not too difficult. There is minimal text and it is very simple, which allows children more time to look at the pictures on each page.

Consideration of Instructional Application:
I was never aware of the role that lightships played until I came across this book. A great lesson would be to first show children a video of what lightships do such as this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOsFL...
and then read the book. Afterwards, students can draw and write about what they learned. Even thought this book was targeted for a younger age group, I definitely think this activity would be more appealing for grades 2-4, especially because the video I plan to show with it is a little complex for pre-schoolers.

[Benjamin Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

clean attractive illustrations, and the factual text is given a flow and lightness that makes it easy to read.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely illustrated story showing heroes of lightships. It was a tough life, and yet so important.

[Whitney Duke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows the true meaning of what a lighthouse does. The lightships take place of a lighthouse because the lighthouse cannot go in the middle of water unless it is on an island.