Art Activities

• out of clay or Plasticine create a statue of the witch

• display the statues of the students

• create sand pictures using fine sand and powder paint

• on a post card draw the characters from the story

• Photography - take photographs of still lifes, items found on the beach ( rope, bottle, driftwood, seashells) and create collage

• take night pictures

A Light in the Dunes was inspired by the Legend of the Witch of the Bird Sanctuary. The legend is set on the island of Ameland, a small island off the coast of Friesland. I've always been intrigued by this legend, maybe because of my love for the sea. I like to roam the beaches in stormy weather and like to look at interesting items the waves have left on the sand.

Our youngest daughter had been named after the witch, but we had changed the spelling. She had to overcome many challenges when she was young, just like the woman in the legend. I felt I owed her this story.

I also collect legends and folk tales and soon discovered that legends similar to the story of Rixt appear in the folklore of many maritime nations. A similar legend was told in Normandy, France. The woman who lured the ships into treacherous waters was a fifteen-year-old girl. The incident happened in the early fifteen hundreds.

On the island in the town of Buren is the statue of Rixt. The people on the island are very superstitious and they claim they can hear her call "Sjoerd! Sjoerd!" during heavy storms.

In the summer of 1992, we visited family and friends in Friesland, the Netherlands.

One day we took the ferry to the island of Ameland. We rented bicycles, biked to the bird sanctuary and the lighthouse. We ended our trip in Buren, where our daughter Rikst finally met the statue of the witch. She wasn't impressed when she saw whom she'd been named after.

Today she finds it very interesting that she was named after the witch in a legend. She is happy to tell people the story.

The legend is very popular in all of the Netherlands. A screenplay has been written and even an opera. The play of this legend was performed on an outdoor skating rink. It was in the summer, so there was no ice, but they simulated the beach and the dunes and the sea, to make the setting as realistic as possible.

Pre- Reading Activities

• when examining the cover what do you think the story is about

• what does the title A Light in the Dunes mean to you?

• Discuss how you feel about the image of the woman in the background.

Reading Comprehension

Chapter 1.

• Where do you think Rikst and Thomas are being taken by the captors?

• Describe the tension between the Rikst and Thomas and Ice Woman

Chapter .2.

• Why is Dirk teasing Rikst about the witch?

• After Rikst and Bram found the body, Rikst had a strange experience. Describe what she felt and what she thought she saw

Chapter .3.

• What do Thomas, Rikst and Bram discover when they return to the beach?

• What did Rikst write in her diary that you found important?

Chapter .4.

• Why does Rikst get frustrated when she asks her mom about her name?

• How did Rikst compare herself to the witch? What did she have in common?

Chapter .5.

• What happened to Rikst once she started reading the legends of Friesland?

Chapter 6.

• Describe Mr. Visser, Rikst's Math Teacher and how he treated girls

• Why is the accident with the music box upsetting?

Chapter 7.

• What did Rikst and Bas discover when they picked up Boukje from the ferry?

• Why is there a gift exchange on the fifth of December?

Chapter 8.

• When does Rikst speak to her father about her name and how does he react?

Chapter 9.

• How does Rikst feel about Mom typing her story?

Chapter 10.

• What do Bas and Rikst discover as they watch the bunkers from their hiding place?

Chapter 11.

• Why is Dirk so friendly and what did he disclose about his dad and Rikst's mom?

• How does Dirk's new behaviour affect Rikst?

Chapter 12.

• What is happening to Rikst's relationship with Marijke and why?

Chapter 13.

• What do they think the small mound of freshly turned sand on the side of the bunker is?

Chapter 14.

• How did Ice-woman's actions relate to the legend of the Witch of the bird sanctuary?

Chapter 15.

• What did Rikst discover when she opened the latch at the bottom of the music box?

Chapter 16.

• Which story does Thomas tell Rikst about the ghost of Rixt?

Chapter 17.

• Explain Mom's words: "Oh Rikst. Oh, my baby. I thought I'd lost you, too."

Chapter 18.

• What do they find when they reach the cottage?

Chapter 19.

• What does Ice-woman tell Rikst?

Chapter 20.

Why did Mom hold on to this secret for so long?

A Light in the Dunes was translated in Italian by Mondadori in 2000.

The title, Il fantasma dell'isola means,

'the ghost of the island'. The cover is so different from the original book.