Bartone, E. (1993). Peppe the Lamplighter. Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard.
Caldecott Honor – 1994
This picture book has illustrations done by Ted Levin that you can clearly tell that the depiction of light in the realistic watercolor scenes in the darkness are the reason why the pictures won the artist recognition with a Caldecott Honor. The light plays both an important part of the story and the paintings, for the main character Peppe takes on the job of being a street lamp lighter in a Little Italy neighborhood that he lives in, and I estimate the time frame to be around the turn of the century. Peppe is an immigrant and lives with his father, who can be crabby and moody, and his eight sisters, and his mother was no longer living. As a young man in the family, he feels the drive to help support them by seeking a job in the neighborhood that he could do for his age, which I estimate him to be around 10-13 years old. When a man has to travel back to Italy to get his wife, Peppe gets the opportunity that he is seeking to be employed as the nightly lamplighter. At first, Peppe felt a special sense of pride about his job: “and each one Peppe imagined to be a small flame of promise for the future.” His father initially shows no encouragement or pride for his hard working son, but comes around later in the story when Peppe decided to not go out due to the constant discouragement and does not light lamps one night. Because he did that, his father realized how critical his job was, and finally encouraged him to do what he was doing well so he could find the missing youngest girl, Assunta, who had no yet come home. When he reached his last lamp that night, after wishing on every flame he lit for the safety of his baby sister, she is sitting there. In a touching painting, light pours over Peppe as he holds Assunta up so she may reach to lamp that light, because she told him that she wanted to grow up to be just like him, and with that idolization, announces, “I think it must be the best job in America.” A great selection to share to compare times from long ago and today, as well as to discuss the immigration experience in a big city more than 100 years ago. Indeed, Peppe’s perseverance is his own lighted lamp of promise, and a role model to the reader.
Caldecott Honor – 1994
This picture book has illustrations done by Ted Levin that you can clearly tell that the depiction of light in the realistic watercolor scenes in the darkness are the reason why the pictures won the artist recognition with a Caldecott Honor. The light plays both an important part of the story and the paintings, for the main character Peppe takes on the job of being a street lamp lighter in a Little Italy neighborhood that he lives in, and I estimate the time frame to be around the turn of the century. Peppe is an immigrant and lives with his father, who can be crabby and moody, and his eight sisters, and his mother was no longer living. As a young man in the family, he feels the drive to help support them by seeking a job in the neighborhood that he could do for his age, which I estimate him to be around 10-13 years old. When a man has to travel back to Italy to get his wife, Peppe gets the opportunity that he is seeking to be employed as the nightly lamplighter. At first, Peppe felt a special sense of pride about his job: “and each one Peppe imagined to be a small flame of promise for the future.” His father initially shows no encouragement or pride for his hard working son, but comes around later in the story when Peppe decided to not go out due to the constant discouragement and does not light lamps one night. Because he did that, his father realized how critical his job was, and finally encouraged him to do what he was doing well so he could find the missing youngest girl, Assunta, who had no yet come home. When he reached his last lamp that night, after wishing on every flame he lit for the safety of his baby sister, she is sitting there. In a touching painting, light pours over Peppe as he holds Assunta up so she may reach to lamp that light, because she told him that she wanted to grow up to be just like him, and with that idolization, announces, “I think it must be the best job in America.” A great selection to share to compare times from long ago and today, as well as to discuss the immigration experience in a big city more than 100 years ago. Indeed, Peppe’s perseverance is his own lighted lamp of promise, and a role model to the reader.
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