Captain Kate

by Carolyn Reeder

Determined to take her father's coal-carrying barge on the C & O Canal from Cumberland, Maryland, to Georgetown in D.C., twelve-year-old Kate learns hurtful truths about herself

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Civil War, Childrens

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Carolyn Reeder was an American writer best known for children's historical novels. She also wrote three non-fiction books about Shenandoah National Park for adults together with her husband. She won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

Reviews

[Ash Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first re-read. My late grandmother gave me this book when I was much younger and it took me forever to read the first time because of the repetitive nature of the story and the tediousness of driving a canal 100+ miles down the C&O Canal. But working somewhere mere blocks away from the Georgetown terminus of the canal renewed my interest and I gave it another shot.

The story is still a bit tedious. One person steers the boat for six hours and then switches to driving the mules for another six. Break for meals and sleep. Run into the occasional unscrupulous boater or Rebel soldier (the book takes place during the Civil War, when Confederate soldiers would damage locks to prevent supplies from reaching Union soldiers). But Ms. Reeder does a wonderful job of describing certain details and as a result is quite immersive.

The other issue is that Kate Betts, the main character, is pretty awful and doesn't go through a lot of growth until the last few chapters, making it feel pretty rushed and unearned. Kate is twelve years old, grieving her dead father and the fact that she'll never get to boat down the canal with him again. Her mother remarried quickly and is expecting and Kate unwillingly gained a stepfather, stepbrother Seth and stepsister Julie. When she realizes that the family will need money while her stepfather is fighting on the Union side, she decides to take the boat down the canal anyway. Since she can't do it by herself, she begrudgingly takes Seth along.

Most of the novel is made up of Kate and Seth bickering constantly. Kate is resentful that her mother remarried so quickly on top of missing her father and takes out most of her frustration on Seth. She also doesn't like that Seth catches on quickly and becomes about as skilled as Kate in much less time (it took years at her father's side to learn what she knows). Kate claims captainship quickly as the boat belongs to her family and Seth has never been on the water before and she interprets any defiance from Seth as him wanting to usurp her position, even when him disobeying is for the good of the boat and her crew. Most of Kate's internal thoughts after a spat are "How dare he!" which becomes tiresome very quickly. You would think that the fraught events that occur would cause her to shape up more quickly than she does, but again, it takes her until near the end of the book and it isn't until the very last chapter that she admits Seth did well on the canal.

I know it's not very fair for a twenty-seven year old to be so hard on a twelve-year-old and expect a ton of emotional maturity, which is probably why I should read less books written for children, but here we are. I did enjoy the historical aspects of the book, but the protagonist and her own personal journey leave a bit to be desired.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katie's family was worked for years taking loads of coal from Cumberland MD to Georgetown along the length of the C&O Canal. But this year Katie's father is dead and her mother is on bed rest before the birth of a child. Katie can't stand the idea of missing boating season. That's when she gets the idea that she and her step-brother Seth can make the trip themselves. But can two twelve year olds manage the trip and all the work? What will Katie learn about herself along the way?
Found this as a suggestion from Newbery books I've read. It appears that the author has written a number of books all set during the Civil War. I really enjoyed this and will link for her other books.

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may be a little biased because I just finished an internship at the C&O Canal NHP, but this is such a cute book! Although there were parts where I wanted to slap Kate, any stubborn fourth-grader would recognize themself in our Captain. She braves the entire 184.5 miles with her stepbrother, who she learns to grudgingly appreciate. Although her character growth is kind of rushed into the last two or three chapters, it's understandable. I wish this book was more widely available to teach kids about the canal!

[Joy Musselman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting children's historical fiction of the C&O canal. Not a common setting! With it being a local and a place we often explore as a family I was tickled to find this book for my children to learn more of the history and to make the canal life become more real to them. Also liked the character development aspect of this story.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just basing this review off my fond memories of this book as a kid. I read it over and over and loved it.

[Katy-Margaret Doss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review for Captain Kate by Carolyn Reeder. This book is about a young girl named Kate and the adventures she and her stepbrother Seth have as they take the family canal boat down the O&C Canal to Georgetown during the Civil War. The story begins after the loss of Kate's father and her mother has remarried a man with two children. Kate is also upset that her mother is going to have a baby and is unable to make the journey with her to Gerogetown. Kate does not like them but is forced to team up with her stepbrother to take the canal filled with coal to Gorgetown to get support the family after Kate's stepfather is sent off to fight in the war. Kate and Seth have many close calls down the canal but are able to complete the journey with the help of a boy named Zeke. The story ends with Kate and Seth arriving back at their home and finding out that their stepfather and father is back from the war. He is injured but will be able to make future trips with Kate and Seth to Georgetown and back to continue to support the family. I really enjoyed this book. It was not like any Civil War story I have ever read. Even though it takes place during that time period it is not the primary focus. I liked that it showed that life still went on during the war and that families still had to make a living. This is definitely a book for older children but would be good for them to read if they were also learning about the Civil War in history. I would use this book to work on reading comprehension and sequencing events in a story.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few years ago, some friends and I stayed overnight in a former C&O Canal lockhouse -- home to the lockkeeper who opened and closed doors to raise or lower boats from one water level to another -- through the Canal Quarters program. Inside was this book, a children's historical fiction novel about a brother and sister who decide to operate their family's canal boat by themselves during the Civil War. I read until it got too dark (there was no electricity in the lockhouse), and finally got it out of the library to finish. It was a kind of hard to force myself through because of the slow, repetitive pace (the main character is bossy and bitter about her mother's remarriage, and it takes about 500 wake up calls for her to see the error of her ways). Still, paired with a ride on a canal boat at Great Falls or Georgetown and a visit to a lockhouse, this would be a great way to make history come alive for a young student living near the canal.

[Josephine Gibbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the historical/geographical aspect of this book. It was fun to look up the C&O canal on the web view maps and photos and discover that it has been preserved as a park and bike/hike route.

The human side of the story seemed a bit torturous at times, as other reviewers have observed. Kate is stubborn, domineering and seemingly dense about learning her life lessons. It may not be the most breezy to read, but it is a truer picture of a deeply wounded person trying to move on than stories in which characters transform within a day or two. Humans do tend to get stuck in negative relationship patterns even after repeated flashes of insight.

Captain Kate would be a good read aloud. The daring (if somewhat misguided) girl against all odds premise of the story will keep children interested and give parents a chance to discuss grief, misplaced blame, acceptance, forgiveness, kindness and similar issues.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical fiction written for the appeal of the setting. The character development (Kate is resentful of her new stepfamily and jealously protective of her family's long tradition of canal-boating: we know where that plot will go, aye?) is predictable. However, the main part of the plot, where Kate and her stepbrother take the family canal boat on a coal run on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal during the U.S. civil war, is packed with historical detail (the author notes that there was an actual case of two young people about the age of her characters working the canal with the family boat) with as a canal enthusiast I enjoyed greatly. There's a modern strain with another character who is intellectually challenged (we're not really sure in what way), but I think the author handled that respectably.
So: predictable plot, interesting journey.

[Miss Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

gr 4-7 210 pgs


Civil War, C&O Canal (connects Cumberland, MD to Georgetown DC) 12 year old Kate just wants everything to be like it used to. But nothing is the same since her father passed away. Kate is determined not to like her stepfather or her step siblings. When boating season starts, Kate is determined to go even if that means going by herself, but her step brother Seth has other ideas and insists on coming along too.

Great story about family with a lot of interesting facts about boat life on the C&O Canal.

I would recommend this book to someone who likes a good adventure story.

[Aimee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not like this book. I wouldn't have even finsihed it if my MIL hadn't given it to us to read as a family. Kate is selfish, whiney and needs a good spanking. The story is tedious and boring. Anything the promises to be the least exciting or engaging quickly dissapoints. I am sure this book will go on the shelf and collect dust, I won't pick it up again, it isn't worth my time.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these stories about heroines. In this one, a girl takes over the delivery of goods via canalboat during the Civil War in Virginia. A good read.