Abbie Against the Storm (CL)

The dramatic true story of a young heroine who operated a lighthouse during a terrible winter storm in her father’s absence, saving countless lives out at sea.

When seventeen-year-old Abbie Burgess and her family move to Maine where her father will be caring for a lighthouse, she is immediately fascinated by the lights. Abbie becomes her father’s assistant, and when he is forced to make an emergency trip to the mainland, Abbie alone knows how to keep the lighthouse tower lit. Soon after he leaves, a massive storm arises, surging over the island and flooding their house. Will Abbie be able to care for her sick mother and younger sisters and make sure that the lighthouse guides ships safely through the treacherous waters?

This fictionalized account of a young girl’s triumph over a savage storm as well as her own fears, is based on an actual incident that took place in the winter of 1856. Gorgeously illustrated with powerful oil paintings, young Abbie will inspire readers to face all storms as bravely.

When acclaimed author Marcia Vaughan was a young girl, she loved telling wild stories to her friends. As a graduate of Washington State University, she began her career as a librarian and was soon writing books herself. Now she is the author of over 80 books for children published in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and England. Vaughan lives in Vashon Island, Washington with her son Sam and husband Richard, who is also an author.

Artist Bill Farnsworth is an award-winning illustrator whose work has been seen on book covers, magazines, and children¿s books over the past eighteen years. He has illustrated 15 books for children. He is a graduate of Ringling School of Art and Design, and a member of the Society of Illustrators in New York. He has done painstaking research to make Abbie historically accurate. He lives in Venice, Florida with his wife Deborah and their two children Allison and Caitlin.