Little Gray Lighthouse and Great Gray Bridge by Swift
 
 Lighthouse Cat by Stainton
 
 The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge_ by Hildegard 
 Swift and pictures by Lynd Ward.

No, it's not set in NC, but it's a  great way for kids to empathize with a lighthouse and then for them to learn about how the book ensured the survival of the lighthouse in real life (it's the Jeffreys Hook Lighthouse in NY)--visit this website for info:
 http://www.hudsonlights.com/littlered.htm
 
 
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie_ by Peter and Connie  Roop.

Lighthouse Family books by Cynthia Rylant,


 Boxcar Children book #8 (The Lighthouse Mystery) by Gertrude Chandler  Warner