The Storm

The Lighthouse Family #1

by Cynthia Rylant, Preston McDaniels (Illustrator)

Life with only the sea can be lonely. Just ask Pandora and Seabold. They've lived most of their lives with the sea -- Pandora in a lighthouse and Seabold on a boat -- and they're each quite used to being alone. Or they were.
But one day, the sea did something It brought Pandora and Seabold together! And even better, the sea gave them the ingredients for an adventure that neither of them had considered before-an adventure called "family."

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Picture Books, Family

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Cynthia Rylant is an American author, poet, and librarian whose deeply felt books for children and young adults have made her one of the most beloved voices in contemporary literature. Writing across picture books, novels, short stories, nonfiction, and poetry, she has published more than one hundred works, many of them rooted in memory, family, solitude, and the emotional landscapes of ordinary life. Her fiction often draws from her upbringing in West Virginia and reflects the textures of Appalachian life with unusual tenderness and clarity.
Raised in modest circumstances, Rylant spent much of her childhood with her grandparents in a rural setting that later became central to her imagination as a writer. Those early years, marked by hardship as well as warmth, shaped the emotional honesty and quiet resilience that define her work. She later studied English and library science, and after working as a waitress, librarian, and teacher, she began publishing books inspired by the world she had known so intimately.
Among her most acclaimed works are Missing May, which received the Newbery Medal, and A Fine White Dust, a Newbery Honor Book. She also earned Caldecott Honors for When I Was Young in the Mountains and The Relatives Came. For younger readers, she became especially well known through the enduring Henry and Mudge series, as well as other popular books and series that combine gentleness, humor, and emotional depth.
Rylant's writing is distinguished by its compassion for lonely, searching, or overlooked characters, and by its reverence for animals, nature, and small human connections. Whether writing about grief, wonder, childhood, or belonging, she brings a lyrical simplicity that resonates across generations. Her books continue to offer comfort, recognition, and beauty to readers of all ages. She remains a singular literary presence in children's literature and beyond today.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS THE SWEETEST THING IVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE, WHAT THE HELL

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super sweet transitional book for kids who are going from easy readers to chapter books. I read this one out loud to my preschooler and the chapters were plenty short enough for her not to get bored, plus there are lovely illustrations. This is perfect for kids who like books in which characters are very kind to each other, with little conflict.

[₊‧ ୨୧mollie_ anneliese⸆⸉₊‧ ୨୧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me and my brothers review of the lighthouse family #1! 🐶🐭🐱🌊⚓️🕯⛈

My review:
4\5 ⭐️
Such a nostalgic book! These were some of my favorites when I was little as well! Very underrated, and I think all young kids should read these books. The have animals, they are SO cozy, and written very beautifully. My brother loved it! Onto The Lighthouse Family #2!

Miles's review:
5\5 ⭐️
"My favorite character was Seabold. My favorite of the mice children was Tiny! It makes me feel cozy, like in the winter time that would be a great book for it. I like how the flag was a red shirt instead of an actual flag."

Thanks for reading our review!! <33

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It just doesn't get any better than this. Thoughtful, quiet, gentle, challenging vocabulary. Empathy and love abound in this book about Pandora, a cat who lives a lonely life as a lightkeeper. One day Seabold, a brave seafaring dog, is shipwrecked on Pandora's island and a family is born. I can barely get through it because it's so wonderful it makes me cry. The illustrations are lovely as well. A terrific readaloud but would be great for a precocious independent reader since there are challenging words but the content is totally appropriate for even very young children. Marvelous in every way.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice chapter book for young readers about a cat who discovers that her purpose is to run a lighthouse and save sailors from the rocky shores.
However, the story focuses on more than just the lighthouse, it focuses on how the cat Pandora finds friends and a family as the sea brings to her what she had given up for it.
Lovely drawings and a sweet story!

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read three books in this series, so it is past time to for me to finally read first one.

I've mostly enjoyed the gentle adventures of this found family of a cat, dog, and mice living in a lighthouse, so it was nice to see how the noble lighthouse keeper, the adventurous sailor, and the orphaned siblings all came together.

Quite nice.

[Kate Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my gosh, how cute!! 😍🥹

[Betsy Gant · Rating 4 out of 5]

What makes life meaningful? Saving and helping others? World traveling? Family and friends? This beginning readers' book explores those questions in a charming tale and whimsical drawings.

[Yolanda Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story was wonderful, but the illustrations make it top-notch. Cant wait to read the rest of the series!

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caleb: "I think that whole book was nice."
Ian: "I liked Pandora because she was so brave. They all are."

[Claire Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

** Re-read 2024 with littlest. Still so stinking sweet. 🥹

Such a sweet book 🥹 It was a great read-aloud for a young kiddo who is new(er) to chapter books.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

The coziest and adorablest book I ever read.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in the Lighthouse Family series. The artwork is still lovely. As a child I dreamed of living in a lighthouse; I loved the idea of living in a round tower by the sea. I didn't realise that the tower wasn't the house the lighthouse keeper lived in! Of course growing up on the Midwestern prairies the only "sea" I knew about was oceans of corn and soybeans.

I read Vol 2 of this little series first; perhaps that's why I found Vol 1 a bit slower and less enchanting, as it presents the "back story" of the family, while from Vol 2 we have them well-established as a group and they are free to have adventures together. Maybe it's because it's a first volume but I found the moralising a bit evident and heavy-handed. So, unfortunately, did the friend I usually read this sort of book with. The black and white drawings in the paperback edition we bought were unfortunately a bit pale, a bit diffuse, and tbh a bit small. I wish I had been able to invest in hardbacks. I recommend the hardback editions.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this whole series for my daughter’s fourth birthday and we’ve read the first one as a readaloud. She loved it and we’re on the second book, The Whale, now.
Very very sweet books so far, about a cat who lives in a lighthouse and helps a shipwrecked dog, then the two of them rescue some orphaned mice.

As a note there is so far no romance between the maternal cat character and the paternal dog character, no marriage or kissing or anything. And there are no family labels, the mouse children are referred to as siblings but the cat is not now their “mother.” I don’t really have an opinion on this but thought it was worth sharing.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 3 & 6 yo boys both said they give this book 100 stars. ✨

[Devin Redmond]

I saw this book in a pile of old books at school. I grabbed it, and knew I had to save it for when I needed a dose of kindness and quiet.

I came home on Friday needing a nap, needing silence.

Did you know there was a school/church shooting?
Did you know we can change gun laws?
If you’re against changing those laws, it’s you who should be the first responder at a school shooting so you can see the blown up bullet-ridden remains of a child.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮 by Cynthia Rylant, the first in The Lighthouse Family series, gave me the goodness I was hoping for. I read it before taking my nap. The 75 pages, some of which have illustrations, took me about 20 minutes to read. The book is about a cat who is a lighthouse keeper. She chose the job because lighthouses save and help people. A sailor, a dog, washes up on shore, and Pandora nurses him back to health. They rescue some baby mice who were floating in a wooden box.

We don’t have this book in our school library, and its copyright is old at 2002. It’s peaceful and quiet and wholesome.

I’m not going to rate it because it was more like the perfect medicine right when I needed it.

[Leah Delcamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not often that a book can make me cry, but this sweet story took me by surprise as I choked back tears reading it aloud to my son. The tenderness in combination with the found family trope got me right in the feels. I also enjoyed all of the rich vocabulary and the darling illustrations making this an excellent transitional chapter book for young readers. My son liked it, but I absolutely adored it!!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming. Read aloud to #3 (and the others when they gravitated toward the story).

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I like family. I didn't this book because I didn't like the part when there was a big bad storm.

[sincerely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating by 7 year old

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cynthia Rylant is one of my favorite KidLit authors. She writes the most whimsical, delightful stories for children and this first book in The Lighthouse Family series is no exception. A sweet tale about what it means to be a family, paired with beautiful illustrations. This is a perfect book to read to/with your kids and I'm excited to add it to my daughter's collection.

Edit to add: Read this to my daughter in May 2021. As I expected, she loved it too. We're so excited to read through the whole series together.

[Jessica Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent early chapter book read-aloud. This book is special because it was the first one where my daughter was begging for another chapter to find out what happened next. We plan to read more in the series.

ETA: I just finished it again with my younger daughter and it hit the mark again! Still a great read for a first chapter book.

[Chris Gisler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this heartwarming story of an unlikely companionship between two lonely animals! Even though it is a children's book I felt interested in these characters and where the story would go. Great read-aloud.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful introductory story about how a hodgepodge of animals found each other and became a family. Themes of duty and sacrifice are nicely woven in without being at all preachy. I love this series and am thrilled that my five year old loves it now, too.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet, gentle chapter book. We loved that the book ends with “The Beginning” instead of “The End”.

[Christine B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable book! Beautiful illustrations!

[Adrienne Biehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet book! Perfectly short chapters for my preschoolers, although we read multiple chapters at a time because they enjoyed the story so much. Looking forward to reading the rest!

[Heather Hyndman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story. I love Cynthia Rylant’s ability to write books that perfectly appeal to children in a wide range of ages.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

The boys and I needed a comfort read, and this was just perfect. A little bit of adventure, and a lot of loveliness. Too sweet for a daily diet, but just right for yesterday and today.

[Michelle Cooksey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and charming story for read aloud with preschooler!