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

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February, 1941. After months of air raid bombings in London, Olive and Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast for their safety. Before they leave, their sister, Sukie, goes missing during an air raid, and Olive is determined to figure out what happened to her. While in Devon, Olive begins to unravel the mystery and finds out that her sister is more connected to Devon than she realized. Your Year 5 / Year 6 children will look at identifying similes and improving sentences by creating similes based on the information given. 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? A heart catching tale about the Second World War and what it would have been like for those poor poor evacuees 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.”

Letters from the Lighthouse Whole Class Reading | Teaching Letters from the Lighthouse Whole Class Reading | Teaching

This half term we are reading a book. This fantastic book is called “Letters from the lighthouse” by Emma Carroll and is about World War 2 from an evacuee’s point of view. 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. This is going on my "Must Read WWII Fiction for Middle Grade" shelf. I don't even homeschool anymore, but I keep expanding that shelf. I'm okay with that.This is a great resource that can accompany chapter 5 – Caring for Evacuees is a National Service from the Letters from the Lighthouse book. I would highly recommend this book to a person who likes adventures and mysteries, and unexpected endings. It's extremely fun and extraordinary. History-lovers would also love this book. The reader really gets a feel for the dangerous living conditions in London during World War II. 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. There’s so many great Children’s historical fiction available at the minute and Carroll continues that trend. 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.

Letters from the Lighthouse CS6 - authorfy Letters from the Lighthouse CS6 - authorfy

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. In the year before the start of World War Two, 10,000 children fled Hitler’s Germany to the safety of the UK. They travelled by specially organised trains and boats. Their parents were not allowed to stay with them. 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! The book had a happy ending, despite the difficult experiences the characters had endured and if I could, I would give this book a five star review. It is really well written. I loved how Emma Carroll told true events in history but made them fictional. 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.

Curriculum

The story might tread similar territory to other books set around this time, but I feel it’s important to continue to teach youngsters about this bleak period. 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. Letters from the Lighthouse starts off with relatively few characters, but the number increases steadily as the book progresses, resulting in quite a few by the end. Each character feels necessary, and it’s clear that Emma Carroll has put a lot of thought into what each one can bring to the story. This asymmetric character structure gives the story room to delve into the deep-rooted prejudices often faced by refugees, as seen through the eyes of open-minded children. By shining a spotlight on supplementary characters’ preconceptions and showing their progression towards change and acceptance, my class were able to connect with the injustices faced by refugees, both in the past and the present, on a far deeper level. Buy from our bookstore and 25% of the cover price will be given to a school of your choice to buy more books. *15% of eBooks. Home >

Letters from the Lighthouse | All Saints Catholic Primary School Letters from the Lighthouse | All Saints Catholic Primary School

Emma Carroll is my 8 year old daughter's favourite author. After reading all of Carroll's books, I have to say that she is one of my favourites too. I get impatient waiting for my daughter to finish the books so I can read them, and she gets impatient waiting for me to finish so she can talk about them. Your KS2 children will have the opportunity to punctuate the text using colons and also identify when a colon has been used accurately. It’s 1941 and the Second World War rages on longer than anyone anticipated. Reeling from the death of their father and the disappearance of their sister Sukie, Olive and her brother are evacuated to the coast of Devon. After discovering a strangely coded message that she’s certain has something to do with Sukie’s disappearance, Olive embarks on a dangerous adventure as she’s determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Emma Carroll has a wonderful takent for bringing historic events to life for today’s young readers and with Letters from the Lighthouse continues to create an enthralling, thrilling read, whilst introducing situations and characters that are still relevant in our world today.

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Set during WWII, we follow Olive and Cliff as they’re evacuated to the coast of Devon after months of heavy air raids across London. A coded note links the disappearance of their sister Sukie to Devon, and Olive is determined to unravel the mystery. My Comments Like Michael Morpurgo and Philip Pullman, Carroll knows she can keep her listeners in thrall The Telegraph When Olive and her little brother Cliff are taken to the cinema as a treat by their older sister Sukie they find themselves in the midst of an air-raid, and Sukie, last seen by Olive talking to a young man, has vanished.