Letters from the Lighthouse: ‘THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION’ Guardian: 1

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Mi se părea că oamenii erau mult mai greu de descifrat decât codurile. Și totuși, nu conta de unde veneam, care era limba noastră, naționalitatea sau religia, atâta timp cât priveam cu toții spre lumină.”

I already know a lot about World War 2 but it made me want to learn more about the people in the boats.

I enjoyed this book because there were a lot of mysterious things happening and at some points I didn't want to put the book down. I really enjoyed the character Olive because the liked trying to solve her sisters code whom went missing (the sister is called Sukie). This book has made me want to find out more about history because it is set in the 2nd World War and was very interesting so I would love to find out more. I want to read more books by Emma Carroll because they are very interesting and mysterious. Historical accuracy and fine details mean Letters from the Lighthouse slips effortlessly into second world war topics while at the same time providing space for children to think and talk together about deep themes such as: 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. This is modern classic which should be read and loved by generations to come. -- Alison Kerridge, Waterstones, Bury St Edmunds Emma Carroll is brilliant. Everything she writes is brilliant. This is a fact. Yet, somehow, she has managed to top her previous works with the stunning Letters From The Lighthouse. There are some true heart-in-your-mouth moments and heavily moving parts that make it so difficult to put it down. You simply need this book if you're a Year 5 or 6 teacher., The Teaching Booth

The title came first, as titles sometimes do. ‘Letters from the Lighthouse’, all in one piece, just like that, so sure of itself I had to write it down straight awayEmma Carroll pulls on the reader’s heartstrings. She made me feel bad for Olive, but not only for her, for all people and families that suffered throughout WWII. The author used such powerful vocabulary, it felt like I was there. Not only is this a great book, it spreads a message. It shows you that just because you have a different religion, or you think differently, doesn’t mean you’re good or bad.’ 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. 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. This book portrays both the light and shade of humanity in its truest form. I had no idea the difficulties Jews faced trying to enter our country at such a time and wish that our laws would have done more to help.

Ask a small child to draw a lighthouse from memory, and its impressive how many can do it, even if they live miles from the sea. There’s something iconic about a lighthouse: a romanticized notion of safekeeping from the storm. The first documented lighthouse was built at the mouth of the Nile in at Alexandria in 300BC. 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. Desperate to be helpful, Olive becomes his post-girl, carrying secret messages (as she likes to think of the letters) to the villagers. But Olive has a secret of her own. Her older sister Sukie went missing in an air raid, and she's desperate to discover what happened to her. And then she finds a strange coded note which seems to link Sukie to Devon, and to something dark and impossibly dangerous. 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. What a great little book. Carroll captures the reader's interest right from the beginning and maintains it throughout the book. There are plenty of 'sub' storylines that run throughout the book, creating questions as you read. Why is Esther how she is? Who is Mrs Arby? Why is Queenie the way she is? Why are we not allowed to find out what is in Ephraim's cupboards or the top floor, and finally the big question- Where is Sukie and what does the note mean? Carroll takes the readers on an emotional 'treasure hunt', encouraging us to empathise with Olive as well as gaining an understanding of what it might have been like to live as an evacuee during the war. I couldn't put the book down, and I think it would be an excellent read for upper KS2 children. I adored how the chapter names had relevance to the war. Although it is fiction, the book contains a lot of historical contexts and this could be a powerful teaching tool to use across the curriculum.The second world war turns schoolgirl Olive’s life in London inside out. Her father is shot down over France, her glamorous older sister, Sukie, goes missing during an air raid, and Olive is evacuated with her younger brother, Cliff, to Devon. 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. Desperate to be helpful, Olive becomes his post-girl, carrying secret messages (as she likes to think of the letters) to the villagers. But Olive has a secret of her own. Her older sister Sukie went missing in an air raid, and she's desperate to discover what happened to her. The story is told from the perspective of an evacuee named Olive. A main focus of the story is the growing friendship between Olive and a Jewish refugee named Esther. At first, Olive is unsure about Esther as she is different to the other children and comes across as cold and uninviting. However, as Olive listens to Esther talk more about her lived experiences as a Jew in Austria and then as a refugee in England, Olive starts to see how she initially misunderstood Esther and begins to appreciate how brave and courageous she is. I think we can learn a lot from this friendship as it shows us that prejudice and discrimination can be overcome by empathy and mutual understanding.