Abbie Against the Storm (CL)

Set on an island off the coast of Maine in 1856, this fictionalized account of an actual incident centers on a 17-year-old who diligently assists her father, the keeper of twin lighthouses that flank a stone house. After a supply ship fails to appear and her father sets out in a small dory to fetch food, he leaves Abbie in charge. She rises to the task when a fierce storm descends, tending the flames of the 28 lanterns that illuminate the towers, scraping ice from the exterior glass and rescuing the hens from impending disaster. The hens' eggs keep the family alive during the stormy four weeks that pass before her father's return. Abbie proves herself a vigilant lighthouse keeper: ""Not once in all that time did the lights fail. Not one ship floundered. Not one life was lost."" Vaughan's (Animal Fair series) straightforward narrative conveys the danger of the storm as well as the heroine's bravery and stamina, but youngsters may pick up on the plot's loose strands. Though she introduces Abbie's three sisters, their mother is mentioned much later in the story, almost incidentally (""Mother's coughing grew worse""), and the fate of twice-mentioned older brother Ben is never resolved. Farnsworth's (The Christmas Menorahs) resplendent paintings of the turbulent seas heighten the drama and lend the tale immediacy. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)