Children's Books

Aust, Siegfried. Ships! Come Aboard. Minneapolis: Lerner, 1993. Navigation, pirates, the age of exploration, and other historical information about ships. Good illustrations. Ages 5-10.

Borden, Louise. Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2004. Elementary level.

Clough, Fred. Sal T. Dog: One Stormy Night at Pickle Light. Camden, Me: Down East Books, 1990. A story in rhyme about a lighthouse keeper and his wife. Ages 4-8.

Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries. The Visual Dictionary of Ships and Sailing. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1991. Good illustrations of shipbuilding, rigging, and navigation instruments. Ages 8-12.

Fleming, Candace. Women of the Lights. Morton Grove, IL: A. Whitman, 1996. True stories of women who lived and worked in lighthouses, including Abbie Burgess of Matinicus Island, Maine. Contains many historic photographs. Upper elementary grades through middle school.

Gibbons, Gail. Beacons of Light: Lighthouses. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1990. Ages 4-8.

Latham, Jean Lee. Carry on, Mr. Bowditch. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1955. Biography of the young man who became a mathematician and navigator and authored The American Practical Navigator—known as the “sailor’s bible.” Ages 9-14.

Morrison, Taylor. The Coast Mappers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2004. The story of George Morrison, who mapped the Pacific coast in 1850, when merchant ships from Maine were carrying passengers to the Gold Rush. Information on charts and navigation. Very good illustrations. Ages 9-12.

Scarpino, Jane. Nellie the Lighthouse Dog. Mt. Desert, Maine: Windswept House, 1993. Ages 4-8.

Smith, A.G. Where am I? The Story of Maps and Navigation. Toronto, Canada: Stoddart Kids, 1997. Thorough history of navigation going back to ancient times, readable and clear for ages 9-12.