The Little Captain

The Little Captain was a great middle-grade read, complete with adventure and lovely black and white illustrations. I liked all the fun character names, like Timid Thomas and Pudgy. The dragon pictures weren't too scary.

Cute book ! I loved the illustrations they were so good and detailed ! My god daughter loved it, thank you NetGalley for this arc

A middle grade book with all fun sea journey and fantastic adventure plotline. The black and white illustrations is very lovely and give a classic vibe. The kid absolutely will love it.


Thanks Netgalley for providing me with this copy.

The Little Captain is a lovely collection of stories revolving around the Little Captain and his crew, Dicky, Podgy Plum, Marinka, and Timid Thomas. They encounter dragons and pirate treasure and have exciting adventures together. The black and white illustrations add to the story as they help young readers visualize the characters and the adventure surrounding them.

The Little Captain stories were a fun, quick, and classic read. I would recommend them to my young students and think they would make a great addition to a classroom, school, or home library.

Thank you NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

The Little Captain was written by an author who was born in the Netherlands. This book’s introduction states that the author wrote stories about dwarves, princesses, witches, robbers and talking animals. This title, form 1970 was the author’s best known work. Now it is available for a new generation of children.

This book seems like an ideal one for bedtime reading with a young child who enjoys chapter books or for a slightly older child to enjoy on their own. The Little Captain at first reminded me of the Little Prince. There he was, alone on his boat, but self-sufficient. What will happen as he gets to know the people in the town where he has come to be? Where will he go from here? Who will go with him? Turn the pages to find out.

The text is accompanied by evocative drawings. They greatly add to the pleasure in these pages. There are three stories included in this volume of adventure and imagination.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Children’s Books

I must have read multiple books by Paul Biegel back when I was little... While I don't remember if I actually read the adventures of The Little Captain in Dutch back then, I thought this new release of the English translation was the perfect excuse to try one of his books as an adult. What I didn't realize was that this version is actually a bundle including all three books: The Little Captain, The Little Captain And The Seven Towers and The Little Captain And The Pirate Treasure. Not that I'm complaining of course, because it ment that I was able to read all three stories in one go! And I can definitely see why I enjoyed his books when I was younger, because this is a great story for both young and old.

The Little Captain takes place mainly at sea, where the little captain and three other children (Podgy Plum, Marinka and Timid Thomas) have adventures while navigating a little boat called the Neversink. It's a fantasy world without too many details so it's easy for children to use their imagination; the little illustrations included in the story a nice touch to help give an idea what the main characters and their adventures look like. I can imagine the writing being really appealing to the target group, and I liked the variety in personalities of the main characters; this will once again help children relate to them more easily.

Like I mentioned before, you actually get all three original The Little Captain stories in this bundle. The first one will take you to the island of Evertaller, a volcano island and a misty city; all three locations for adventures that are both fun and just suspenseful enough to keep children fully engaged. Then it's time for book number two, with a sea garden, the Land Of Nonsense And Knowledge with seven towers and hard labors, an enchanted ship and another island. Last but not least, book three will be all about the treasure and their travels to return it to its owners. The first is probably my favorite, but all three are very entertaining to read.

In short, if you are looking for a fun children's book that mixes adventures and a drop of suspense with humor, this translation of a Dutch children's classic is a great choice. Come join the little captain on board of his Neversink and enjoy exploring the (fictional) sea and islands along with the other characters!

Delightful old fashioned (classic) stories. The children especially liked the sense of adventure and the illustrations. Could become a classic in this family as I have already had a request to re-read it.

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read in return for my honest feedback. I can see this book being a hit for my kids when they get a little bit bigger, unfortunately my son is still a bit young. I enjoyed the story, It's a fun adventure with kids and the sea. The illustrations in the book are whimsical with a classic sketch style. I would recommend this book for middle school age kids.

For starters, I love reading children's books and 'The Little Captain' by Paul Biegel was an absolute delight of a read. When I started reading I didn't know that this book was originally written in Dutch and later translated into English by Patricia Crampton.

This illustrated children's book follows the adventures of the Little Captain, sailing in his ship called the Neversink. The Neversink gets stuck in the sand due to a storm and only sets sail when a wave frees it. The Little Captain wants to find the island of Evertaller with his crew, a magical place where children can grow up overnight and turn into adults.

This is one of the best children's fantasy I've read in a while and I wish I could make every child read this one. Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read this wonderful book.

The Little Captain is a children's book by Paul Biegel. The edition contains three books that feature the adventures of the little captain of Neversink with a crew of three other children. The Little captain lived in a boat called Neversink on top of the dunes. The people from the harbor were curious, and Salty, one of the people, asked the little captain to go live with them, which he refused. He had the ambition to go to Evertaller, an island where children grew to adults in a night. When he told this to Salty, all the children of the harbor wanted to go there too. As the little captain repaired his boat, the children helped. On his departure, he blew his trumpet to call the children, but only Podgy Plum and Marinka were awake. They later found Timid Thomas as a stowaway in the hatch. The three set off on dangerous sea adventures and to the most formidable lands.

The book contains black and white illustrations which are symbolic and impressive. The story is entertaining. The characters were typical children partaking in adventures that scared grown people. They helped in saving Salty's mates. They teased each other and became serious when there was a need for it. I enjoyed the liveliness and the adventurous spirits of the little captain and his crew. The language used is satisfactory for children. This is due to its simplistic nature and the precise description

There was nothing to dislike about this work. The editing was exceptionally done. The story had a logical flow that was easy to follow.

I rate The Little Captain by Paul Biegel 4 out of 5 Stars. The story contains great creativity and detailed sea adventures with lovable characters. Timid Tomas represented a true nature observer who was not recognized for his power but for his timidness and tears. The little captain was a killer of strings, a natural leader, and a thoughtful and wise person. He made daring decisions that turned out to be worthwhile. Podgy was a talkative, strong person who thought half through things and blurted out the rest with ought a thought. Marinka was a caring girl who made everyone pancakes and was brave without standing out.

I recommend this work to children and parents of youngsters from the age of four through the teens and even young adults. Lovers of sea adventures will discover a gold mine of information in the work. There is friendship, pirates, tamed animals, dragons, volcanoes, boiling seas, and other mystical things of the oceans.

Thank you so much, Net Galley, for this lovely bundle: all three Little Captain stories in one ebook! The illustrations are as beautiful as the stories. I particularly loved the first story as I discovered it. I am French and I did not know the author. I understand why this is considered a children’s fantasy classic and warmly recommend it to middle-grade children, teens, and their parents alike! I am delighted to have discovered this Netherlands classic. I loved the sense of fun (with the neat names). As a sailor myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the seafaring adventures. It is, however, much more and allows kids to meet dragons and try to become adults overnight. Which kids would not dream of being done with school? A must-read!

A quick easy and adorable middle grade read that was full of intrigue, adventure and danger and had really lovely illustrastions included in it. I would have loved this read as a middle grader.

This story was a very quick one to read that would definitely be good for children to read by keeping them intrigued and wanting to read more. There was a great mix of pictures with the book that helps readers visualize the story even more. Overall, a really good choice for younger readers to keep them entertained.