If I Were a Lighthouse

Written by Richard Rensberry
Illustrated by Mary Rensberry
Published in 2017

Why we chose this book:
Author Richard Rensberry offered us several of his books to review. T has been playing with rhymes a ton lately, so we were optimistic about his rhyming books.

Mom's Review

A lighthouse's functions are described in a poem.

Using rhyme and repetition, a narrator imagines what it might be like to be a lighthouse. Most of the vocabulary used is accessible to a young audience, but one of the final pages was a bit beyond T.  Each page shows a different lighthouse, and being in Massachusetts,  I immediately assumed that these were Eastern seaboard structures. About halfway through our first reading, however, I had to readjust my interpretation, as the Great Lakes were mentioned. I would like to know if these are specific lighthouses that we could find along the lakeshores. Regardless, this could be used not just for rhymes but also as a springboard for a lake or lighthouse conversation. Before our next visit to Lake Erie, we will have to read this and talk about what we might look for and see.

Son's Review
(age 3 years)

Mom: Is there anything special about this book?

Son: It has a lighthouse in it. And lots of rhymes.

Mom: What did you like about it?

Son: I like that it had a lighthouse.

Mom: What did it make you think about?

Son: Think about real lighthouses...because lighthouses are real.

Mom: If you could be any building, what would you want to be?...Why?

Son: A tower because towers are very neat.

Mom: Is there anything neat about lighthouses?

Son: Yeah, it is a lighthouse. It is a house and a light!

Mom: Do you have a favorite page?

Son: This page ... I like the "[storms that hammer my cliffs]." Bang Bang.

Mom: Did you have any questions about this book?

Son: Why did it have a lighthouse in it?

Son: This reminds me of Switzerland.

Mom: How does it remind you of Switzerland?

Son: 'Cuz Switzerland has ducks and we liked to feeded the ducks.

Mom: And what does that have to do with the lighthouse?

Son: That has to do with the lighthouse...the connection is that lighthouses are with water.