The Puffin Keeper
by Michael Morpurgo; illus. by Benji Davies
Primary, Intermediate    Puffin Canada    112 pp.    g
2/22    978-0-73527-180-7    $17.99
e-book ed.  978-0-73527-181-4    $10.99

Morpurgo writes a deliciously old-fashioned story to celebrate Puffin Books’ eightieth anniversary, naming his main character after the founder, Allen Williams Lane. The story begins when a lighthouse keeper makes a daring sea rescue after a ship founders; the survivors include five-year-old Allen Williams (who narrates the story) and his mother. The solemn lighthouse keeper, Ben Postlethwait, makes a big impression on Allen, especially when Ben gives the boy one of his paintings. Throughout his childhood, the painting consoles Allen as he copes with such tribulations as a stern grandfather, an abusive governess, and a challenging boarding school. The story follows Allen to adulthood, when he returns to the island, and he and Ben become firm friends. The two nurse an injured puffin back to health and bring the puffin-less island back to life. Davies’s atmospheric illustrations depict roiling seas and English landscapes, as well as Allen’s own paintings of ships and seascapes. With short chapters punctuated with lots of color illustrations, the story, with its Dickensian overtones and wholly satisfying conclusion, is good both for reading aloud and for independent reading.

From the May/June 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.