Abbie Burgess is one of the brave lighthouse keepers of U.S. history. In 1856, young Abbie assumed responsibility throughout a storm off the Maine coast which kept her father away and while illness prevented her mother from maintaining the lamps. Tension and excitement are well handled in short fiction based on an actual event. Each page is illustrated with watercolor paintings and a historical note precedes the text. (Ages 5-11)

Introduce young readers to history through the stories of both real and fictionalized people. By focusing on a single important episode that describes a historical event, these books engage readers' interests and imaginations. Written in a story format, each account relates events that really happened, often followed by a brief summary of the historical event to further explain the significance it had on history.