John Ryan (1) (1921–2009)

What's not to like? Captain Pugwash and his crew are resting on their laurels on a Pacific island. There is, however, a black cloud on the horizon - at home the Prime Minister sends the Navy to bring Pugwash home and to justice. (boo).
Back on the island, Pugwash's lookout spots a flag and the crew all scarper, leaving the loot and Pugwash's hat behind. It turns out not to be the Navy, yet, but Pugwash's arch enemy, Black Jake. Jake takes the loot and buries it (as that's what sensible show more pirates do). Due to some sleight of hand, Tom the cabin boy pulls of a stunt that see's Jake heading home courtesy of the Navy and Pugwash enjoying his Pacific island again.

Listening to this as a adult was an interesting experience. The theme music and sound effects make this more interesting to listen to, I should imagine. There is also a line in defiance of authority that I doubt I'd have recognised as a child. In this book, Tom, the cabin boy, saves the day and says nothing, he also uses slight of hand to gain the advantage over Black Jake. Pugwash is fun to spend some time with again. show less

Captain Horatio Pugwash, that blustering pirate who first appeared in comic strip form in 1950, and who has starred in three television series devoted to his adventures, made his picture-book debut here, in this comic tale of two rival sea captains. With a crew of incompetent layabouts under his command, Captain Pugwash sails his ship, The Black Pig, about the Caribbean, always on the lookout for treasure. When his cabin boy, Tom - the only member of the crew with any discernible skills - show more spies another ship nearby, one that appears to be deserted, and piled high with gold, the greedy pirate sets out immediately to claim it. Unbeknownst to him, of course, it is a trap set by his arch-nemesis and rival pirate, the evil Cut-Throat Jake. Will Captain Pugwash be killed, or will the loyal Tom come to the rescue...?

Originally published in 1957, this first of more than twenty Captain Pugwash picture-books books is a humorous sea story sure to please young readers who enjoy a rollicking good tale. Children who love to read about the adventures of pirates will be particularly thrilled! Done in a cartoon-like style (which makes sense, given the origins of the character in a comic strip), and alternating between full color and black and white artwork with blue accents, the illustrations here are just as appealing as the text, perfectly capturing the zany, madcap humor of the story. All in all, Captain Pugwash is a fun little book - I can see why it has remained popular all of these years. show less

Pleasant, but there's not a lot there for the discerning adult reader (I'm a discerning adult reader). It's fine--it's a 3. The drawings are enjoyable (without being "you should buy it for the illustrations alone!" caliber), the tale straightforwardly-told, but it's really not all that much more exciting than something you might whip up for tired children on a row boat ride out of your imagination (unless you're Lewis Carroll, who did rather amazing things off the top of his head).

The show more viewpoint character, Tom, does pretty much what any of us would do and no more. There's no moral lesson (other than be careful with your tools and use them correctly). It's entertaining for five minutes, and then it's over.

(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! show less

Cut-throat Jake catches Captain Pugwash off guard doing a Gareth Malone getting his pirates to sing. Tom as usual saves the day. These stories are so simple, such fun and superbly illustrated.