Marcia Vaughan

Abbie Against the Storm: The True Story of a Young Heroine and a Lighthouse

Find your own courage in this thrilling picture book about a young woman triumphing over a deadly storm. After a supply ship fails to appear and her father leaves their island home for food and supplies, Abbie is left in charge of her family and the lighthouses her father keeps.

When a fierce winter storm descends, Abbie is fearful but prepared, tending the flames of the lanterns that illuminate the towers and scraping ice from the exterior glass. At the storm's height, huge waves wash over the island, sweeping away outbuildings. For four weeks Abbie keeps the lights burning, cares for her ailing mother and frightened sisters, and runs the towers until the dangerous seas subside and her father can return.

Abbie Against the Storm is based on an actual incident that took place off the coast of Maine in the winter of 1856 and on a real young woman who rose to the challenge of saving her family and countless sailors. Depicted in powerful oil paintings, young Abbie will inspire readers to face all storms bravely.

Published: December 1, 1999
Illustrator: Bill Farnsworth
ISBN: 978-1-58270-007-6
Pages: 32 Dimensions: 9.5 x 11 inches