[SWR]⇒ Libro The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge Hildegarde H Swift Ward Lynd Books

The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge Hildegarde H Swift Ward Lynd Books

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The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge Hildegarde H Swift Ward Lynd Books

This review is about the Facsimile Edition (Harcourt, 2002) of The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, which uses the original watercolor illustrations which had never seen by the general public before this printing. It will say "Facsimile Edition" on the copyright page (back of book).

The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge is one of those classics that rings with everlasting truths. Furthermore, it's about two landmarks on the Hudson River that are still there, and which anyone can see merely by Googling the George Washington Bridge or the Little Red Lighthouse (a.k.a Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse), which still stands proudly at its feet, thanks to preservationists who acted to save it specifically because of their love for this book.

The lighthouse takes pride in its job, warning ships to stay away from the rocks at night, especially in fog or storms. A huge bridge goes up right next to it, and high above, hundreds of feet in the air, a beacon is installed atop it. The lighthouse feels that its light is no longer needed, and begins feeling depressed and isolated, but when a dense fog comes and the man fails to come and fire up its light, the lighthouse learns that the ships of the river are in great peril. The great bridge calls down to it and asks it to turn on its light, and explains that the bridge's beacon is for the ships of the air, not those on the water. The man arrives, at last, and the lighthouse proudly gets back to work.

Hildegarde H. Swift was an excellent storyteller, and Lynd Ward made very compelling pictures with lots of broad, powerful strokes, hallmarks of the Art Deco era. The book was published in 1942, and while I own an original edition of it, I bought this edition because of the "facsimile" artwork inside. That is an interesting story in itself: Mr. Ward drew his sketches of the bridge and lighthouse from the Manhattan shore while they were under military guard after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. His wife served as the lookout while he sketched furiously, for anyone caught making pictures and diagrams of key bridges could be arrested under suspicion of being a collaborator. He made watercolors from the sketches, and then made 3-color artwork from the watercolors. The original edition, of course, uses the 3-color artwork. But this facsimile edition, published in 2002, uses the actual original watercolor illustrations, which have a great deal more sparkle. Either way, it's a great children's book and one of the all-time classics. Certainly one of MY favorites!

The book also has a special connection with my family, for my grandparents' best friends were the famous pilot Wiley Post and his wife Mae, and the beacon atop the Great Gray Bridge (George Washington Bridge) was commemorated in Post's name to honor him. My grandmother (who, at this writing, is 102 and still very active) attended the dedication ceremony with Mae Post in the 1930s.

I remember as a child feeling powerfully for the lighthouse and the ships that wrecked when its light failed. I remember sharing its fears of being no longer needed, of being all alone, and of being unable to speak: "The little red lighthouse could neither speak nor shine." That still puts a lump in my throat to this day when I read it to children. I also remember very much how I identified with the Little Red Lighthouse's pride in its work when it was able to resume. There is a line that I think is important for children:

"Though it knows now that it is little, it is still VERY, VERY PROUD."

What a great message for tiny, new people who cannot imagine that this massive, fast-moving world could possibly need them.


Tags : Amazon.com: The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge (9780156528405): Hildegarde H. Swift, Ward Lynd: Books,Hildegarde H. Swift, Ward Lynd,The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge,HMH Books for Young Readers,0156528401,General,Children's Books 4-8 Years,Children's & young adult fiction & true stories,Children's BooksAges 4-8 Fiction,Children: Grades 1-2,Classics,Fiction,Juvenile Fiction,Lighthouses

The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge Hildegarde H Swift Ward Lynd Books Reviews

When my son was young, we took a walk under the George Washington bridge along the New Jersey side of the Hudson River to look at the lighthouse after reading this book. I was delighted to find a picture we took that day and so thrilled to be able to get this new edition of the book to pass along to my grandson.
Great book to read to the grand daughters. They loved the story and it was enjoyable to us as we saw the lighthouse under the bridge while navigating the Hudson river last month.
I may be prejudiced because I was raised about 10 miles from where the little red lighthouse currently resides, but I found this book an absolute delight and ordered it for my grandchildren who now live in Fort Lee practically under the bridge and can see the lighthouse across the river. I've shared the story with other adults who lived around the area and they are also delighted with the story. Amazingly, none of us heard of the lighthouse until the book was brought to my attention. I do not wish to insinuate that the book would only appeal to New York/New Jersey residents because it is charming with lovely illustrations, and because it is fiction based on historic facts, enriches the story even more. I would recommend this book for all children 3 years old and up to adulthood. A delightful read!
My son lives in NYC and ran past this lighthouse. He read the history of the lighthouse and mentioned there was a book about it. I bought it and we all read it. The illustrations are great and we loved the story
When I was young Captain Kangaroo would read this book on the air. After all these yeas I still remember the story which to me shows that no matter how small you are you can make a difference.

I would recommend this book as a great story t read to little ones or for them to read themselves. And it isn't bad for an older person to read it and learn its lesson.
I bought this book for my grand-neice (9 years old) after she attended a wedding where her uncle and his bride were photographed after the wedding ceremony standing on the Palisades overlooking he GW Bridge, and I was able to point out the lighthouse to her. She said she had never seen the book before and it became a treasure of her trip to New York City. It was one of my favorite stories when I was growing up because it describes the importance of some one or some thing that is often overlooked because it is small or out of the way, yet serves an important function in the community.
I purchased two copies of this wonderful book - one for myself and the other as a gift for a Bulgarian friend who asked me for some English books.I read this beautiful story to my children many times over the years. The week before I ordered them, I was returning to the RV park I work at during the camping season with two exchange students who arrived at JFK International Airport from Slovakia. We stopped at an overlook on the Palisades Parkway in New Jersey, and for the very first time, I finally saw The Little Red Lighthouse, hidden under the HUGE George Washington Bridge.

This beautifully-written story has even more of an impact on me now. Being a lighthouse lover, and in spite of being a children's book, I really teared up - again - during the reread. The reprint has been vastly updated, and reading just how and when the artist sketched the tiny, red light, simply adds to the story, as it came about shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After both 9/11 and the Pearl harbor tragedy, all military structures were off-limits. In 1942 - this innocuous light was part of the US Army Corps of Engineers. No one was permitted to go near it. Lynd Ward, aware that photos were forbidden, found a myriad of different ways to sketch it for the cherished picture book he illustrated and Hildegard H Swift, penned.. A road trip is in order to visit this building, now on the National Register of Historic Places
This review is about the Facsimile Edition (Harcourt, 2002) of The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, which uses the original watercolor illustrations which had never seen by the general public before this printing. It will say "Facsimile Edition" on the copyright page (back of book).

The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge is one of those classics that rings with everlasting truths. Furthermore, it's about two landmarks on the Hudson River that are still there, and which anyone can see merely by Googling the George Washington Bridge or the Little Red Lighthouse (a.k.a Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse), which still stands proudly at its feet, thanks to preservationists who acted to save it specifically because of their love for this book.

The lighthouse takes pride in its job, warning ships to stay away from the rocks at night, especially in fog or storms. A huge bridge goes up right next to it, and high above, hundreds of feet in the air, a beacon is installed atop it. The lighthouse feels that its light is no longer needed, and begins feeling depressed and isolated, but when a dense fog comes and the man fails to come and fire up its light, the lighthouse learns that the ships of the river are in great peril. The great bridge calls down to it and asks it to turn on its light, and explains that the bridge's beacon is for the ships of the air, not those on the water. The man arrives, at last, and the lighthouse proudly gets back to work.

Hildegarde H. Swift was an excellent storyteller, and Lynd Ward made very compelling pictures with lots of broad, powerful strokes, hallmarks of the Art Deco era. The book was published in 1942, and while I own an original edition of it, I bought this edition because of the "facsimile" artwork inside. That is an interesting story in itself Mr. Ward drew his sketches of the bridge and lighthouse from the Manhattan shore while they were under military guard after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. His wife served as the lookout while he sketched furiously, for anyone caught making pictures and diagrams of key bridges could be arrested under suspicion of being a collaborator. He made watercolors from the sketches, and then made 3-color artwork from the watercolors. The original edition, of course, uses the 3-color artwork. But this facsimile edition, published in 2002, uses the actual original watercolor illustrations, which have a great deal more sparkle. Either way, it's a great children's book and one of the all-time classics. Certainly one of MY favorites!

The book also has a special connection with my family, for my grandparents' best friends were the famous pilot Wiley Post and his wife Mae, and the beacon atop the Great Gray Bridge (George Washington Bridge) was commemorated in Post's name to honor him. My grandmother (who, at this writing, is 102 and still very active) attended the dedication ceremony with Mae Post in the 1930s.

I remember as a child feeling powerfully for the lighthouse and the ships that wrecked when its light failed. I remember sharing its fears of being no longer needed, of being all alone, and of being unable to speak "The little red lighthouse could neither speak nor shine." That still puts a lump in my throat to this day when I read it to children. I also remember very much how I identified with the Little Red Lighthouse's pride in its work when it was able to resume. There is a line that I think is important for children

"Though it knows now that it is little, it is still VERY, VERY PROUD."

What a great message for tiny, new people who cannot imagine that this massive, fast-moving world could possibly need them.