I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A cute idea with cute pictures. They story isn't as strong as the pictures, but I think kids will like it.

Do you like this book?
No it's weird. I can't read the words.

What's your favorite part of the book?
When he let's the butterfly sink his ship, but not really. He was nice to the butterfly.

What do you think of the cover?
I like the otter and the bird!




This is an absolutely adorable book about being yourself, and saying you don't care what other people think, as long as it makes you happy.

It's also a great book about being nice to others, and being selfless to help them out and make them happy. Even if it means giving up something that you love.

Finn didn't like this book because once again it was weird on the kindle. I know he'd love it if it was in actual book form. The artwork is cute, and I love the story.

A story about friendship and trying your best even when others make fun of you. Otter loves to sail and wants to sail away, but the others make fun of his boat. This was an okay picture book with a decent theme.

My kids enjoyed this story. I liked it and thought it was a well written children’s book. Captain Otter was great!

This was a cute book about Kelpy, a sea otter, and his friendship with a butterfly pirate. It's perfect for storytime when teaching kids about friendships and empathy.

I will first say, I love anything with otters and these illustrations were super adorable! Kelpy is Captain Otter! He built his ship out of scraps, and he was quite proud of it too! He loved his ship from “keel to crow’s nest.” But not everyone did. The otters laughed at him, the pirates laughed at him and even the waves laughed at Kelpy’s Ship. That’s ok, Kelpy just “straightened his hat and sailed on.”
He then battles the blistering butterbeard! A butterfly pirate, of course!
What’s not to love with this silly pirate tale!?
Thanks so much to OwlKids Books and NetGalley for this e-copy! It was lots of fun to read!
This will be featured on my blog on December 7, 2019.
www.colecampfireblog.com
LanaLCole@yahoo.com

What a wonderful story! Kelpy is an otter who wants to be a Captain. He already had the head, heart, and hat for it, and after a lot of hard work, he had the ship for it. It was a fine ship, and he loved it, but others didn't. Everyone he met laughed and pointed at his ship. Bullying and making fun of people (or otters) for things they love, is never right, nor fun for the person being laughed at. Kelpy carried on, though, until he met a butterfly who had the same dream Kelpy did. Unfortunately, Kelpy didn't do the right thing the first time, but his heart wouldn't let him be mean for long, and he ended up with a friend to play with. Maybe now, the other otters and sharks will see the fun they missed out on by being mean and will want to play Captain and Pirates in the future.

Wilson's story has several great messages: getting laughed at hurts, believe in yourself, be kind, and never turn into a bully just because you were bullied. These messages are brilliantly brought to life through Chiodi's illustrations.

Thank you NetGalley and Owlkids for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy.

I had mixed feelings on this book? It was sort of cute but also weird. I was glad that Captain Otter made a friend but it was sort of strange to me that they were always blowing each other up?

<i>The Sinking of Captain Otter</i> by Troy Wilson is one of those utterly adorable children's books about friendship and passion. There is the passion to do what you love, even when others may think it silly and ridicule you for it as well as the ability to find friendship with those of like minds who may be experiencing the very same love and struggles that you have. One's ability to be compassionate and build a long lasting friendship with another as a result of having similar dreams is truly a wonderful message to send to young children.

The artwork is cute and certainly colorful enough to draw one's attention to the story. With excellent depictions of Captain Otter, his friend, and the other otters and pirates who didn't believe he was truly up to achieving his dream this story was a pleasure to read. I especially loved how adorable Captain Otter and the ship he worked so hard to make were when they set sail.

I do partially find myself wishing that the story itself had been a little more lyrical since I feel that rhyming in children's books is always a lot more fun and attention grabbing. I did appreciate the pieces that repeated since that's become a pretty integral piece of children's stories for me.

I definitely see this book as one worth reading to your children. It has a wonderful message that it seems far too many children's books don't even bother to send. It's always wonderful to come across one with a deeper meaning and I can definitely say that I would love to send this one to my niece. Every child could find some benefit in reading <i>The Sinking of Captain Otter</i>.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

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Kelpy is an otter who loves the sea and fancies himself a sea captain. He's got the heart for it. The head for it. He's even got the hat for it! Building a ramshackle ship from scraps, that's everything he could ever dream of, he sails the high seas, despite the cruel jokes and jabs from pirates, sharks, other otters, even the waves themselves. Sure, he cries a little, but he loves his ship and that's that. But one day, he meets Blistering Blastering Butterbeard, a teeny, tiny pirate on a teeny, tiny boat of his own, who challenges Kelpy. Well, Kelpy can't help it: he laughs, too. And Butterbeard cries a little. And then he cries a lot. Kelpy knows he has to do the right thing, and proceeds to cut up his ship to make Butterbeard feel better, telling him that his cannonball sunk the ship. Face to face, the two adversaries know what they have to do: rebuild their ships and play on!

Captain Otter is a story about empathy and doing unto others (or otters, as the case may be): Kelpy knows what it's like to be laughed at and poked fun at, so when he does it to someone else - and sees the repercussions of his actions - he makes amends, paving the way to a brand new friendship. It's a sweet story whose repetition drives home the important points of the story, particularly persistence and devotion ("He loved his ship. He loved her from keel to cabin to crow's nest. So he took a deep breath, straightened his hat, and sailed on"). Scuttling his own ship to make Butterbeard feel better is a completely selfless act that opens the door to a friendship between the two; something we see as the two laugh together, play together, and share tea together, along with a black bird that appears in the story. It's a good story for storytimes and to start a discussion on doing what you love, and how our actions affect others.

The Sinking of Captain Otter is about Captain Kelpy who builds his own ship from scraps and loves it. He sets sail and is laughed at by pirates and even the ocean waves. This makes him sad but he still loves his ship and sails on until he sees Butterbeard. Butterbeard sails in his own tiny built ship and attacks Kelpy. Sadly, Kelpy treats Butterbeard the same way that the others had treated him. He laughed at him. Kelpy sees how sad it makes Butterbeard and has a change of heart. I was not a fan of this book. I thought a second opinion may be in order so I read it to my five year old granddaughter and she confirmed my original thought. Why would someone destroy something they loved and worked so hard on instead of apologizing and becoming friends with Butterbeard? The artwork is wonderful, but the story fell flat.

The Sinking of Captain Otter by Troy Wilson is a fantastic little book about imagination and play. Kelpy likes his ship just so. He is proud of his beautiful vessel built with scraps and cast offs. Unfortunately the other otters, sharks, and sea life think his ship is laughable and are quick to judge. While sailing the seas, Kelpy encounters a teeny tiny butterfly pirate who attempts to sink his beautiful ship. Kelpy laughs at this tiny captain and his even tinier ship but quickly realizes he has hurt the other Captains feelings. In a show of empathy, Kelpy plays along. The two captains become fast friends sinking and rebuilding each other’s ships and sailing the seas together.

The Sinking of Captain Otter is a lovely book about empathy and kindness. When we choose to laugh and ridicule others, we are choosing to belittle them and hurt them. If we can all take a minute to think, like Kelpy, about the effect of our words and laughter, we may realize we need to choose kindness and to play along and we may make some of the best friends in the process.

The art by Maira Chiodi is so cute! You will be immediately drawn to the beautiful illustrations of sea life and the inviting warmth of the characters. The illustrations are inspiring and will provide creative fuel for all the young authors and illustrators out there. The illustrations are bold and big making The Sinking of Captain Otter a fabulous book to share as a read aloud. Beyond the illustrations, the repetition and rhyme of the text lends itself to an interactive reading experience between reader and listener.

The Sinking of Captain Otter is especially brilliant because the seed of the story began for Troy Wilson in grade school. A story from the heart of a child, percolated and then viewed again through that same child’s adult eyes leaves us with a beautiful message of perseverance and a reminder that we are all storytellers, no matter how young or old. Our stories have value and are meant to be shared. Parents, save all the wonderful stories your children write, you never know if they will one day revisit them to share with the world, or just to their own children one day.

The illustrations were cute in this book and the message of doing something to make a friend feel better was good. I didn't connect with the delivery method though. I found it sad to see everyone laughing at otter and him crying and I don't usually reread books that make me sad. And then the little pirate crying and crying and otter destroying his own boat to make him feel better seemed a little extreme even though it "proved the point" of comforting a friend.

Overall though, the book is worth the read due to the cute illustrations and the wholesome message of friendship.

Thank you #NetGalley for providing me with a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A valuable lesson in extending friendship and kindness, as portrayed by a sailing otter and a sailing butterfly. Pretty adorable illustrations.

A unique friendship of empathy and cannon balling silliness that leads the readers the appreciate the motto, “when they go low, we go high”

The art is cute, but the story is odd. I don't think it will appeal to children. It has a heavy handed message presented as a metaphor that just doesn't play out fully.

Kelpy the otter dreams of being a pirate, but when he builds his ship, everyone laughs at him. He carries on, determined to prove the otters and the pirates wrong about him. Then he encounters a tiny boat with a butterfly captain--Butterbeard--who tries to sink his ship. Kelpy originally treats Butterbeard the same way HE had been treated. Soon he comes to his senses and manages to make a new friend.

The illustrations in this book are a great representation of the text, expressing all of the emotion of the story. The story is easy to read, with lots of rhyme and repetition.

This book starts traditionally enough, with a predictable pattern. Kelpy, our otter protagonist, loves his ship. However, an otter sea captain is just too weird for other otters, pirates, and even waves, to fathom. They all laugh and laugh at poor Kelpy who only cries in response, until he meets a pirate named Butterbeard who threatens to sink his ship and the roles reverse to an absurd extreme.

Good children's literature teaches kids how to empathize with others; teaching empathy seems to be Mr. Wilson's intent here, though I can't help but consider this book a failure in this regard. The storyline is just too confusing and bizarre for most children to learn how to treat others empathically. My guess is that while some kids might chuckle after reading this book, most will leave it on the library shelves after only one read. And some will just be left scratching their heads.

Talk about an unlikely friendship! Kelpy the otter dreams of being a pirate. But once he builds his ship, everyone on the open waters made fun of him. Until he came upon Blistering Blastering Butterbeard! The only pirate more unlikely that you could imagine :-) But Kelpy is a good otter, and he knows what Blistering Blastering Butterbeard needs to be a happy pirate - the perfect pirate foe! (And nothing is better after a long day of battling at sea, than hot beverages and warm blankets by the fire with friends regaling the tales :-D )

This book has an important message about being aware of other's feelings. I liked how the tables were turned on the main character and he had to decide if he was going to treat someone else how he had been treated or if he was going to make a better choice.

My kids love pirate stories so having this story set on boats with sea battles and pirates around was a lot of fun for them.

It is a pretty quick read and easy to read to younger as well as older kids.

We definitely enjoyed the book, but there was some extra spark missing to push us to the point of us loving it.