Emelia, or Lampie as she is known, is the young daughter of the lighthouse keeper. Her mother died recently and her father is now disabled so it is her job to climb all the stairs and light the wick as the night draws in.

She is a young girl who likes to play and have fun and sometimes her imagination makes her forget things, like to replace the matches to light the lamp. When a storm comes in she goes off to light the lamp to help the ships stay off the rocks but there are no matches left, she forgot she was supposed to buy more.

She sets off in the storm to the shops but the wind is ferocious and she ends up being blown about so viciously that she is knocked unconscious. Awaking the next morning she heads home and discovers that whilst the lamp was out a boat has crashed. The Sheriff of the town isn’t happy, the boat was an expensive one and he decides that Lampie and her father are responsible for paying for a new one.

Her father is left at the lighthouse to see to the light every night and is told he must not leave, Lampie is sent as a maid to the Black House owned by the Admiral where legends have it that a monster is kept in the tower. But is the legend correct?

Lampie and the Children of the Sea is a beautiful fantasy story featuring such a wonderful little girl who has such wisdom and loyalty to her for someone so young. The story is told in six parts and reads just like a fairy tale and has some amazing artwork within the pages too. It truly is mesmerising.

The book has been translated and whilst there were tiny sections that didn’t have natural wording to them, they were very few and far between and easy to just gloss over, not often the case with translated books, so this was a pleasant surprise.

There was an air of magic to the book too which all the children that I know love in a story. This is a tale that will capture your heart and have you reading non-stop.

Annet Schaap has always wanted to be a draftsman, or writer, or explorer.

She studied at two art academies and a writers’ school.

She has illustrated nearly 200 children’s books since 1991 and is best known in the Netherlands for her drawings in the successful Hoe Survive Ik series by Francine Oomen. But she also illustrated many books by other beloved writers, such as Janneke Schotveld, Manon Sikkel, Jacques Vriens, Annie MG Schmidt and Astrid Lindgren.

With her Canadian husband Tom and their son Jonas (2009), she spent a few years traveling in a motorhome through North and Central America.

Now she just lives in Utrecht again and draws and writes alternately.

What did you think of Lampie and the Children of the Sea? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!