Ten Lights On

The sun sinks low on Puffin Bay.
Ten lights on in town.

As evening falls over a little harbor town, everyone is getting ready for bed. The ferry captain pats his boat goodnight. The fisher pours a startled fish out of his boot. The boat painter doesn't notice the red spot on her head, and the ice-cream man finds one last scoop. One by one, each of them takes one look out to sea... click... and another light goes out.

Nine. Eight. Seven. All the way down to the very last light, the one beside the child's own bed. And who turns that one out? You do.

Then, in the dark, the child looks out across the bay and sees the light that never went away: the lighthouse, where a keeper in a red coat knits a stripy sock and guides one late boat safely home.

Ten Lights On is a gentle bedtime countdown made for reading aloud:

•Count down to sleep: ten lights go out one at a time, and little listeners say each number along with you.
•A refrain to share: "One look out to sea. Click." comes back page after page, so children can join in.
•Rhymes with a giggle: a fish in a boot, a teddy nearly swallowed by a yawn, and a baker asleep in all her clothes.
•Things to spot: a little orange cat with a journey of its own, and a tiny, steady lighthouse far out in the bay, there all along if you look.
•A reassuring ending: when every light is out, someone is still keeping watch, and the boats are in, and so are you.

With soft watercolor illustrations of a seaside town and its many neighbors, this is a calm, cozy read for bedtime and for any child who wonders what happens after the lights go out.

For ages 2 to 6.