Tim returns from a long sea voyage to find that his home is boarded up, a ‘To Let’ sign in the window, and his parents gone. He cries a little, but resourceful as ever, sets off to find them. Knowing they will be near the sea, he signs on as a cabin boy to search up and down the coast. His odyssey involves him in all sorts of adventures, until he’s shipwrecked one the beach by a small seaside town where he at last finds his mother. Young readers will be fascinated by Tim’s adventures and love the vicarious excitement of his tribulations and happy reunion while Ardizzone’s detailed illustrations are little worlds in themselves. ~Andrea Reece
Scan the QR code at the back of the book for the audio edition, read by Stephen Fry.
Winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal
Chosen by Quentin Blake as one of his favourite stories.Ardizzone’s illustrations may seem a little dated now, but that’s the real joy of this one and the various other Tim stories. It’s a fantastic story that’s also wonderfully satisfying for parent and child alike. It won the Kate Greenaway Award in 1953 and has stood the test of time quite brilliantly. A wonderful story to read aloud.
Little Tim's adventures at sea have delighted generations of children ever since the first book was published in 1936. In this Kate Greenaway winning title, Tim arrives home after a long holiday to find his parents have vanished. He is determined to search the whole wide world, if necessary, to find them, and sets out on a journey filled with sea-faring adventure.
'Mr. Ardizzone... paints the wettest sea you ever saw.' The New York Times
Author
About Edward Ardizzone
Edward Ardizzone was born in 1900. His family moved to Ipswich in 1905 and lived there until Ardizzone was fourteen. It was in Ipswich, as he later wrote, that he "...learnt to know and love the little coastal steamers that I have drawn so often in the Tim books."
Ardizzone illustrated more than 170 books and his outstanding work in the field of children's book illustration was recognised when he won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1956. The adventures of Tim are firm favourites with readers, young and old, throughout the world.
He lived in Maida Vale in London for most of his life, but was away for the whole war, working as an official War Artist.
Edward Ardizzone was a member of the Royal Academy of Arts and was appointed CBE in 1971.
