Deborah Hopkinson

One small kit­ten learns about the great big world as he sets sail with his fel­low ship­mates, ani­mal and human, in this his­tor­i­cal fic­tion inter­me­di­ate read­er.

Trim is eager to do a good job on his first day as ship’s cat—but what is his job? All around him, mem­bers of the crew are busy with their responsibilities—too busy to notice a small kit­ten look­ing for an oppor­tu­ni­ty to con­tribute. Jack the par­rot directs Trim to the hold, to patrol for rats. But Jack neglects to tell Trim exact­ly what a rat is. Sure­ly Princess Bea, the new friend he meets below deck, isn’t a rat. She doesn’t resem­ble the creepy, scary-look­ing crea­ture that Jack warned Trim about and she’s hap­py to have an assis­tant to fetch her bis­cuits from the galley.