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. 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. Emma 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.’

Letters from the Lighthouse will appeal to readers of all dispositions, as Carroll ensures the historical elements never overwhelm the story, which is as accessible as anything set in modern times. That said, Letters From the Lighthouse will also sit nicely with other classic second World War tales, like Nina Bawden's Carrie's War and, more recently, Shirley Hughes's Whistling in the Dark., Irish Times

Find a Scheme of Work

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.

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?Scrisori din far” este o istorie de viață de care te îndrăgostești încă de la prima pagină și pe care ajungi să o porți în suflet mult timp după ce închizi ultima filă. Autoarea creează o adevărată feerie de poveste, desprinsă din timpuri în care camaraderia și respectul pentru om, indiferent de rasă, naționalitate și religie era încă o virtute în sine. Ea aduce în prim-plan personaje diverse, cu accentul pus pe o copilă, care învață pe propria sa piele ce înseamnă toleranța și într-ajutorarea celor din jur, aflați în necaz. Emma Caroll ne poartă pașii până în anul 1941, când Londra pare a fi în flăcări, căci nemții aruncă peste ea bombe peste bombe. Tocmai de aceea, părinții își trimit copiii singuri, în zonele rurale, pentru a îi salva un pic de la toată trauma pe care o provoacă un război de o asemenea amploare. Romanul acesta, atât de potrivit pentru copii și adolescenți pentru a afla ce a însemnat cel de Al Doilea Război Mondial și ce suferințe a provocat, este unul plin de aventură, de mister întreținut prin intermediul unor coduri secrete, dar și unul despre a fi om chiar și în timpuri grele, despre umanitate, comunitate, acceptare, toleranță, iubire de aproape, prietenie, compasiune, creare de legături născute din suferințe mari și bunătate arătată tuturor, indiferent dacă sunt prieteni sau dușmani. Tocmai prin acest mesaj și această uriașă lecție de viață încântă sufletele cititorilor săi autoarea: 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. Strong, loving and resourceful, Olive is driven to extraordinary acts of courage by her sense of responsibility to her family, like the way she fiercely protects her little brother. I especially enjoyed this book because I have such an interest for World War II. I would recommend this book to history lovers and gutsy people.

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.

Want to save more time

I think this was a good book for me to write a review on as I really enjoy reading war books; I have about 10 of them. I will definitely be looking out for more of Emma Carroll's books. I really understand Olive's feelings when she's on the train and Esther takes Cliff's BEANO. I think she is a kind, considerate person who adores her brother Cliff. My favourite character is Esther because she stands up to the most fierce, and even if she was a bully, that's changed now! I think she is now Olive's best friend and is willing to fight for those who can't. She has made a huge difference to herself since the beginning of the story. She shows why people bully and why they stop, my answer is, they need love and for them to be kind. Esther's story shows no matter what you look like, it's what's on the inside that counts. This seemed incredibly poignant to me and I am sure younger readers would appreciate the importance of recognising the humanity in everyone, even if we dislike them, or in this case were the enemy. It was such a powerful message. 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. 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.