The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge - by Hildegarde H Swift

About the Book

This classic is the tale of a small red lighthouse on the Manhattan bank of the Hudson River who proudly protects boats with his beam. When a great expanse of gray steel, which also shines a bright light into the fog, is built over the little red lighthouse, he feels useless in comparison. But he soon learns the importance of all things, big or small. Full color.

Book Synopsis

On the Manhattan bank of the Hudson River, a small lighthouse--made of steel and painted bright red--proudly protects boats with his faithful beam. One day a great expanse of gray steel, which also shines a bright light into the fog and darkness, is built over it. The little red lighthouse feels insignificant and useless in comparison but soon learns that . . . small can be mighty!

A portion of the sales from this book will be donated to the Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse education and outreach programs.

Review Quotes

"There is just enough humanizing in the pictures--the intimation of a face on the tower, fog forming a grasping hand--to maintain the human spirit of the story and lead to its message: 'Each to his own place, little brother.' " --New York Herald Tribune

"Such a picture-story book as Mrs. Swift and Mr. Ward have made between them will not only be deeply enjoyed by boys and girls ... but will help to cultivate in them the seeing eye, and make them sensitive to the beauty which they can so easily find around them." --The New York Times
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About the Author

HILDEGARDE H. SWIFT (1890-1977) wrote several books for children. Best known for The Railroad to Freedom, which was cited for a Newbery Honor, Ms. Swift spent her life recording the lives of heroic Americans. The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge is her most popular picture book.

LYND WARD (1905-1985) illustrated more than two hundred books for children and adults throughout his prolific career. Winner of the Caldecott Medal for his watercolors in The Biggest Bear, Mr. Ward was also famous for his wood engravings, which are featured in museum collections throughout the United States and abroad.