LIGHTHOUSE CHILDREN

What a cozy, old-fashioned world this popular author creates—and how improbable, whether it's the precarious placement of old lighthouse-keeper Sam's feet on a winding stair or the story's pat conclusion. Sam and his wife Rose move far inland after their lighthouse is damaged in a storm (``the roof was almost gone,'' says the text, but in the picture it's the whole roof plus half the tower). They miss their favorite gulls, but as soon as they shine a beam of light from their new roof, the seagulls flock around them once more. What happens to ships when the old couple simply decides not to rebuild? Why is their new neighborhood crammed with houses on one page and spacious with lawns on the next? Like the peculiar fissures in the ruins of their lighthouse, these anomalies defy explanation. Cheery, but sloppy. (Easy reader. 5-8)