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Captain Cat
A patriotic feline, Captain Cat springs out of bed whenever the bugle sounds and he has more stripes than any of the soldiers. But most of all, this young recruit and his best friend Pete know what it really takes to make the army a home—friendship. ‘Hoff continues his string of hits.’ —BL. ‘Hoff has maintained his deft touch with a title that’s sure to appeal to youngsters.’ —SLJ.
48 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1993
About the author
Syd Hoff
195 books66 followersWhether you’re seven or seventy, the chances are you’ve probably come in contact with one of his many books (150 plus), or cartoons that have appeared in over 200 magazines in the course of his lifetime, including Laugh it Off which was syndicated for 20 years. His comic strip Tuffy, about a little girl who did funny things, was declared essential for national morale during WWII by William Randolph Hearst.
Syd has worked in diverse genres. He had the distinct honor of working with Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen as a contributor of short fiction writing. He was awarded national advertising commissions for large companies such as Chevrolet, Maxwell House Coffee and others. He had his own TV show (Tales of Hoff on CBS), traveled the world as entertainment on cruise ships and entertained children and teachers in schools and libraries across the country.
Syd has worked in diverse genres. He had the distinct honor of working with Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen as a contributor of short fiction writing. He was awarded national advertising commissions for large companies such as Chevrolet, Maxwell House Coffee and others. He had his own TV show (Tales of Hoff on CBS), traveled the world as entertainment on cruise ships and entertained children and teachers in schools and libraries across the country.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 5, 2021
If only I would have read this book when I was in the Army! A fun book that looks at the military and points out that the best laid plans are often over very bumpy roads. Military humor books always take me back to when I was stationed in Germany ('84-'86) when everything just seemed so hard! Looking back now I do miss those days.
November 19, 2017
The words "sergeant" and "corporal" should not be in an easy-reader. Also, an untrained cat could never make the rank of captain- ridiculous.
April 6, 2017
A cute love story between a solider and a cat!
June 19, 2015
So yesterday my son comes home all excited that he has one more day left in school. They cleaned out their desks and he brought home two books that he said were in his desk. One of them was this book. When I asked if he had read it yet he said no. So I remedied that and read it to him right away.
Captain Cat tells the tale of a cat who "joins" the army. He is given his name when some soldiers notice that he has more stripes than they do. He spends his day following the soldiers around but most are too busy to pay attention to him. All except for Pete. Pete always makes time for Captain Cat.
Ok so I totally was sitting there while I was reading it asking myself why these drawings remind me of something. It wasn't till today when I was looking up the book and author on Goodreads that I realized that Syd Hoff did some classic children's books that I remember from my youth such as Danny and the Dinosaur and Sammy the Seal. That gave me a smile as I had totally forgotten about those books.
I loved the charm of the books and the cuteness of a cat thinking it was joining the army. I also liked at the end when all the soldiers were dreaming of loved ones that Captain Cat was dreaming of Pete and vice versa.
So my son enjoyed this very much..wanna guess why? Yep, cause of cats. Put a cat in it and for him it an automatic 5 star.
I'm torn on this one because for me it felt a bit dated in that it depicted army life like a 1950s cartoon would. But it was still really cute and my son really enjoyed it.
I'll go with 5 out of 5 since my son didn't notice it was dated.
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well
Captain Cat tells the tale of a cat who "joins" the army. He is given his name when some soldiers notice that he has more stripes than they do. He spends his day following the soldiers around but most are too busy to pay attention to him. All except for Pete. Pete always makes time for Captain Cat.
Ok so I totally was sitting there while I was reading it asking myself why these drawings remind me of something. It wasn't till today when I was looking up the book and author on Goodreads that I realized that Syd Hoff did some classic children's books that I remember from my youth such as Danny and the Dinosaur and Sammy the Seal. That gave me a smile as I had totally forgotten about those books.
I loved the charm of the books and the cuteness of a cat thinking it was joining the army. I also liked at the end when all the soldiers were dreaming of loved ones that Captain Cat was dreaming of Pete and vice versa.
So my son enjoyed this very much..wanna guess why? Yep, cause of cats. Put a cat in it and for him it an automatic 5 star.
I'm torn on this one because for me it felt a bit dated in that it depicted army life like a 1950s cartoon would. But it was still really cute and my son really enjoyed it.
I'll go with 5 out of 5 since my son didn't notice it was dated.
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well
November 26, 2013
My son recognized the cartooning style as "like the chicken clown" from his recent reading of Henrietta, Circus Star. He was disappointed in that one but this one had soldiers and a cat, so we checked this one out and he was delighted.
August 12, 2008
Favorite part: When the general straightened the cat's cute little whiskers!
December 30, 2012
An amazing adventure with Capt. Cat and Pete the soldier.
March 9, 2013
I love Syd Hoff! He is able to write easy to read books that are fun to read too! A good book for beginning readers. Grades k through 2 nd.
March 27, 2022
Captain Cat by Syd Hof- Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- The book narrates the story of a cat who is residing in the barrack of US Army. Two special thing about the cat are that as soon the bugle is blown she jumps from her bed, second that the cat has more stripes on her body than any army rank. The cat enters the morning drill area unnoticed by the soldiers. She marches with them. During inspection of the troops by an officer, the cat returns back to rest. Captain Cat springs A young recruit Pete are best friends. Coloured illustrations help the reader to relate to the story. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.
March 15, 2019
As so many others have grown up with Syd Hoff, I was tickled to come across this volume at a library book sale. I'd never seen it before and with my penchant for cats, nabbed it.
As this is for "Level 1" readers, this is a quick story to read. It's not much of a story. Cat enters military base and becomes pal with a service man. The end.
But I love the way Hoff includes the kitty and clearly loves cats, also. There's a real team created in a short number of pages. A camaraderie that is healthy for a child to understand.
Bottom line: i recommend this book: 9 out of 10 points.
As this is for "Level 1" readers, this is a quick story to read. It's not much of a story. Cat enters military base and becomes pal with a service man. The end.
But I love the way Hoff includes the kitty and clearly loves cats, also. There's a real team created in a short number of pages. A camaraderie that is healthy for a child to understand.
Bottom line: i recommend this book: 9 out of 10 points.
November 1, 2017
A great children's book. My siblings had me read it to them when they couldn't read, now that they can they get to enjoy reading and learning posititve lessons from easy, happy go lucky books like these.
September 8, 2023
As is the usual case, Hoff's illustrations are fun, but for me, he misses the mark in creating conflict that the characters must face or overcome. If this was closer to the usual 64 pages for an easy read, there may have been more time to develop such a plot, but alas. My rating - 3/5
October 5, 2017
I love Syd Hoff's illustrations and you can't really go wrong with his stories either. This one's cute.
Reading Level: K - 3rd grades
Reading Level: K - 3rd grades
December 21, 2017
Campy af
July 4, 2018
7/4/18 Read with Julia.
October 29, 2018
A super cute book, especially for a military family!
August 1, 2021
They weren't suspicious on how captain cat came in, and Pete had duties but he didn't care about his duties and wanted to stay with the cat.
February 11, 2022
A cute little book about a cat who joined the army. There he finds his new best friend, a soldier named Pete.
Read
May 28, 2022A cat wanders onto an army base and is adopted by the soldiers.
November 26, 2022
A cat has befriended someone in the Army and has made a friend for life. Someone that cares and makes him feel special.
September 27, 2009
This is a cute tale about a cat that is adopted by a group of soldiers, and becomes attached especially to one named Pete. It's a nice tale, fun to read aloud and has cute illustrations too. Great for beginning readers.
February 25, 2011
Owen says 3; I say 4. It was a good book and a challenge to his reading stamina.
November 5, 2016
One of Hoff's weaker efforts.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews