Ivan is happy enough at Devonport School, but he finds it hard to concentrate, because through the classroom window he can see, gleaming in the harbour, Bean Rock Lighthouse, where his father is the keeper, and that’s where he really wants to be...

This richly illustrated story follows Ivan as he finally gets to go with his father to the lighthouse. It follows the events that happen on and around the lighthouse, including a ship running aground, local birdlife and sharks. It is set in 1910 when Halley’s Comet appeared and sows the seed in Ivan to learn about being a keeper when he grows up.

Ivan and the Lighthouse is loosely based on events in the life of Ivan Anderson and his father James, who was the keeper at Bean Rock Lighthouse in Auckland Harbour from 1909 to 1911.