Reviews

Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain by Edward Ardizzone

ashleylm's review against another edition

2.0

Disappointing. I love Ardizzone illustrations (in books by other authors), but this book seemed written in order to shove in as many illustrations as possible, and quantity does not beat quality. The story has no whimsy, wit, or magic—and it seems awfully unlikely, but without a nod and a wink that makes unlikely behaviour acceptable in fiction. I'd be surprised that it spawned a popular series, except apparently Thomas the Tank Engine is a runway hit, and I think those are essentially unreadable, so there's no accounting for taste.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!

sean67's review against another edition

3.0

First in a series about the title character Tim who is according to the title little, this one he stows away on a ship and of course hijinks ensue. Average short read for the youngsters is fairly forgettable.

thatokiebird's review against another edition

5.0

(Read with little sister as part of the "1,001 Children's Books To Read")

Loved this story! I generally love nautical books, and this had a grand sweet story-line.

scaifea's review

3.0

A sweet little picture book about a boy who wants to go to sea, does so, and finds that it's more than he expected, in both good and bad ways.