FREE INTERACTIVE STORY · AGES 6–8
The Lighthouse Lamp: a free interactive story
Every evening at teatime, the lighthouse lamp on the island flickers and goes out, and nobody knows why. Your child chooses which clue our hero follows: a trail of feathers, a tapping sound or a sleepy-looking cat.
- Reading age 7
- 1 short chapter, 1 choice and 3 endings
- About 2 minutes
- Mystery
Read the story
Choose your hero
Paint it your way
Chapter 1The lamp that goes out
On a little green island stood a red and white lighthouse, and Mr Penrose looked after its lamp.
Every evening the lamp shone out across the sea, so the fishing boats could find their way home.
But this week, at teatime every day, the lamp flickered and went out. Mr Penrose had to relight it each time.
Mr Penrose scratched his beard. “It’s a mystery,” he told Cody. “Will you help me solve it?”
Cody looked around and spotted three clues. There was a trail of white feathers and a strange tapping sound. And there was Pickle the cat, looking very pleased with herself.
What happens next is up to your child
Which clue should Cody follow?
Questions for grown-ups to ask
Did you spot it?
- EasyWhy is the lighthouse lamp important?Answer: It helps the fishing boats find their way home.
- MediumWhen did the lamp go out?Answer: At teatime every day.
- HarderWhich clue do you think was the most useful? Why?Answer: Any answer with a reason: each clue led to a different answer to the mystery.
Talk about it
- Detectives look for clues. What clues would you look for if something in your house kept going wrong?
- In every ending, Mr Penrose finds a kind way to fix the problem. Why do you think he doesn’t just chase the seagull or the cat away?
Words to talk about
- flickered
- Shone unsteadily, going bright and dim.
- mystery
- Something strange that nobody can explain yet.
- spiral
- Going round and round, getting higher, like a snail’s shell.
- tide
- The sea coming in and going out each day.
Reading it together
The Lighthouse Lamp is a gentle mystery at Litsee’s reading level for age 7. Each ending has a different answer, so children practise the most important detective skill: following one clue to see where it leads.
Before the choice, ask your child to guess what is making the lamp go out. After reading one ending, ask whether the other clues could also explain it. Comparing explanations is excellent reasoning practice.
Every solution is kind: the seagull keeps its nest and the cat gets a warm new cushion. That is worth noticing together.
About this story
- Reading age
- 7 (ages 6–8). Written for Litsee’s reading level for age 7, where sentences are mostly 7–12 words long.
- Length
- 1 short chapter, 1 choice and 3 endings. Each way through is 175–179 words.
- Reading time
- About 2 minutes for a 7-year-old reading on their own, at Litsee’s pacing of 85 words a minute for that age. Reading aloud to your child is usually quicker.
- Book band
- Roughly Gold to Lime, if your child’s school uses book bands (schemes differ; see our book bands guide).
- Characters
- Mr Penrose, the lighthouse keeper, a seagull, Pickle the cat
- Theme
- Mystery