Captain Toby

by Satoshi Kitamura

Relates the dream adventures of Toby as he and his cat battle stormy seas and a giant octopus in their house-turned-ship.

Genres: Picture Books, Adventure

23 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Satoshi Kitamura was born in 1956. After dropping out of school to pursue art, Kitamura decided not to attempt a 10-year apprenticeship as a potter and instead worked as a graphic artist. He was not trained as an artist, but at the age of 19 began to do commercial work as an illustrator for adverts and magazines. He moved from Tokyo to London in 1979 where he worked mainly at designing greeting cards.
Satoshi Kitamura has won several awards, including the Mother Goose Award, the National Art Library Award from the Victoria and Albert Museum, and a Nestle Children’s Book Prize Silver Medal. He lives in Japan.

Reviews

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally part of the Spooky Surprise series (of which Lily Takes a Walk, The Hairy Toe and Teeny Tiny also are a part of), Kitamura's little picturebook follows Toby as he wakes us in the middle of the night to find that his home has been cast out to sea and he must steer it safely to land. With the aid of his trusty cat (Kitamura definitely loves cats) and his grandparents, Toby learns to navigate choppy, dark dreamscapes and is rewarded with a humorous light, calm landscape which includes a giant octopus contentedly knitting.

The genesis for the story's creation is an interesting one. At the time of its creation, Kitamura was living in west London with friends who had two children (Toby (4) and Lily (1 1/2) whose grandparents also feature in this book. Waterproof acrylic ink was used alongside fountain pen ink for the lines. In an interview with BookforKeeps, Kitamura speaks of the magic of turning the page and how much of the delight for him, as a creator, is building up that joy that comes with finding out what will happen next.

[Clemmie Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captain Toby is sleeping on a stormy night and his house feels like it's rolling in the ocean. Toby and his 'crew' go off on an adventure in the night in their 'house boat'! The main puzzle for children will be to understand the contexts- one moment Toby is lying in bed with his cat beside him, and the next he is out at sea, steering his house on the rolling waves, with his cat fuelling the engine!

I really liked the illustrations, with abstract shapes helping you to feel what Captain Toby is feeling, for example, rolling waves, the house rising and falling, howling winds). The story harnesses the imagination & is dreamlike in its story & illustration. There are many objects to spot and identify throughout and a strong theme of the colour blue to reiterate the dreamlike quality.

New, exciting vocabulary for KS1 children, for example descriptors like 'enormous', 'terrific', 'gigantic' and more complex nouns like 'octopus', 'tentacles', 'submarine'. Would recommend!

[SBC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised that this was published in 1987 as it felt more modern. Quite cool illustrations and a sweet story - Toby falls asleep during a storm and his house is at sea. When attached by a gigantic octopus his grandparents come to the rescue in their house and grandma tangles it up with balls of wool. We liked it.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of adventure and off-the-wall humour, Captain Toby is brilliant fun from start to finish

[Carson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Captain Toby is an interesting book by Japanese Author Kitamura Satoshi. It tells the story of a young boy Toby and his cat who get caught in a giant storm. The storm is so big it washes his house out into the ocean. Toby has now become Captain Toby and must fight off a giant octopus with his cat crew- and a little help from his grandparents in another house/ship. The story has some interesting turns and it is difficult to tell if the story takes place in Toby's imagination or not.

The story is fantastical and fun for readers to imagine they are on the open seas. The octopus is fairly frightening and creates an intense adventurous atmosphere. However, after the grandparents show up, the book kind of loses its direction. They go to get food and then suddenly the octopus is knitting so they avoid him. And then the book ends. It is very strange and very unsatisfying. I feel like the book could have benefited from a clearer and more coherent ending.

The illustrations did not connect with me very well. They are poorly drawn and Toby's face is not very expressive. In fact, the way Toby is drawn makes it look as though he has Downs Syndrome at certain parts. The rooms are drawn with slanted and non-perpendicular lines which creates a disjointing effect. Also the illustrations did not do much to clarify the story which was already confusing. I would not recommend this book to young readers because it is confusing and poorly illustrated.