Belonging to a Family by Anthony Burt
In The Animal Lighthouse, 12-year-old Jim is brought up by a group of animals on a secret island somewhere in the Caribbean. They are an orangutan, raccoon, parrot, three rats, a millipede, cat, elephant and a crab who farts a lot.
The animals are his family – a very different one he found himself growing up in because, as a baby, he washed up on the hidden island in a barrel of rum.
The orangutan, Oskar, is Jim’s grandfather figure, and the elephant, Elsa, his older “auntie”. He lives with them, and the other animals, in an old lighthouse. Every animal represents all kinds of quirky, non-traditional family members you find in the diverse tapestry of families across the world, in real-life.
Jim and the animals don’t always get along, because they’re all so different. But they do all celebrate and see the benefit in one another’s differences. And it’s this – depicting how much Jim belongs to this unique animal family – that is the backbone theme in The Animal Lighthouse.
Jim doesn’t know who his real family are, until one day pirates arrive on the island and he finds out dark secrets of who his human father is. And so the story is a fun, light-hearted Jungle Book-Treasure Island adventure with both a mission story (where Jim and the animals must recover some stolen bulb filaments from a thief) and a discovery story about what belonging to a different kind of family means.
The book’s more heartfelt moments, where Jim begins to question who he is and where he really comes from, are important lessons for children about how the eclectic nature and mix of life and love in real-life is a wonderful thing to celebrate.
Ever since classic children’s tales involving unique families like The Jungle Book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the forever flying boy Peter Pan, described by JM Barrie as “betwixt-and-between a boy and a bird” and whose family in Neverland consists of pirates, fairies, and mermaids – books have depicted fantastical characters who live in odd, unique worlds they seem comfortable in. And it is these kinds of stories that have always been important in showing children they can belong to any number of different types of family units, and no matter what kind of family they have they can live exciting, supported, successful lives (and possibly fly!).
The kinds of “what is a family?” discoveries Jim goes through in The Animal Lighthouse are a gentler, fictionalised reflection of what many children will go through in real-life. Every day children see their own families and their friends’ different families, and so it’s important they read books they see their own situations and world-view in.
The Animal Lighthouse covers these themes in a subtle, fun way using that wonderful storytelling tool of “humanised” animals to soften an important topic. Because, as parents,carers and teachers know, their children all process information on certain life issues at different ages. This is because children have wildly different priorities – ice-cream!, running!, colouring-in!, making friends!, and, yes, reading! – than adults and need light-hearted ways of learning about often serious things.
So, go pick up a copy of The Animal Lighthouse for your children – it’s a fantastic, fun adventure story with talking animals, a lighthouse and pirates…about finding a family to belong to.
Anthony Burt has worked in primary, secondary and adult education for over twenty years, and run inspiring community youth work, art, film and TV projects for children with SEND. He’s a professional slime-maker, qualified teacher, book festival host, and loyal butler to his cat, Watson. Anthony has been writing since he was five-years-old, and has written scripts for CiTV, Doctor Who Adventures magazine, Nickelodeon, and Disney. The Animal Lighthouse is his debut middle-grade pirate adventure novel.
You can follow Anthony: Twitter @AnthonyJBurt | Instagram anthonyburt4 | https://anthonyburt.com/
The Animal Lighthouse by Anthony Burt | 9781913101527 | £6.99 | Paperback | Age 7+ | Published by Guppy Books
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