I was thinking about Captain Kitty, and how much #4 Daughter and I loved it when I used to read it to her. So I looked it up on Amazon, and dang! Thang is worth some dollars! $15 bucks for a 69-cent book? …Nope, not sellin’.
If you’ve never read Captain Kitty, he went to sea one day with a crew of other cats (Pearly and Mew were the crew). They landed on a tropic isle, where the natives (also cats) dove for pearls. (“Pearls! Pearls! Pearls! Pearls!”). They saw some parrots the color of carrots. I believe, if I’m not mistaken, they caught a whale by the tip of his tale and tossed him back into the briny.
We must have read that book a hunnert times. We counted the parrots. We counted the pearls. We crawled inside that book and lived there.
Apparently, I’m not alone. When I did a search for Captain Kitty, I found other bloggers who remember this book from their or their children’s childhoods. One lovely person, Morgan Wills of Australia, has even transcribed the text and posted some of the illustrations. Her blog is Things That Make My Heart Sing, and Captain Kitty will certainly do that. If I could run away and live in a book, this book would be the one.
You come, too, and we’ll eat fish and wear sweet smiles. 🙂
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character comes across a book he or she loved as a child, and is surprised at who else loved it.
MA
Maryann Miller
February 16, 2013 at 10:33amThis is a book I have never heard of. Imagine that. Considering that I devour children’s’ books even when I don’t have a child to read to, I am shocked I never heard of this one.
One of my favorites as a child was Bunny Blue, and that became a favorite for my kids, too. We wore out several copies, reading and rereading.
Marian Allen
February 16, 2013 at 11:13amAnd Bunny Blue is one that eluded me! I loved Little Golden Books when I was a teeny. The Saggy Baggy Elephant, The Tawny Scrawny Lion, The Pokey Little Puppy, Mr. Dog…. So MANY! 😀
Sarah Park
February 17, 2013 at 9:20amI used to have this book when I was younger. Too bad I cannot find it anymore.
Marian Allen
February 17, 2013 at 1:23pmThat IS too bad! Lucky it’s so easy to find used books these days. My mother found a childhood favorite for me a few years ago. 🙂