Trim helps out by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Kristy Caldwell

 Trim, a snazzy little black cat with a white cross, is excited to be on his first voyage as ship's cat. He's not sure what his job is and checks in with the other animals on board, who tell him to go patrol the ship's hold and look for rats.

The hold is dark and scary, but Trim bravely starts patrolling and even meets a new friend! Unfortunately, the friend tells him it's HER job to patrol the hold! When a "creepy, scary-looking" "rat" shows up, Trim is on the job, but makes a surprising discovery about what a rat really is. It turns out his new friend is a rat and he's successfully defended his friends from a scorpion that escaped from the ship's specimens.

Happily, the new friends are ready to cooperate together and Trim looks forward to being the best ship's cat every. Hopkinson explains, in an author's note, a little about what historical fiction is and how Trim's story is based on a real-life scientific expedition that included a ship's cat. The book includes five short chapters and is similar in level to classic, longer easy readers like Houndsley and Catina, Mr. Putter and Tabby, or Cork & Fuzz.

Caldwell's pictures are cute and friendly, showing a perky black cat, scuttling scorpion, and friendly rat with a cloak. Images of the various scientists and artists on board, drawing a rare flower and sorting specimens are shown mostly as legs and hands. Some liberties are taken with the real story, like portraying the artist, "Will" as a young boy with dark skin (he was actually 19 and white). There are lots of pictures of Trim running, pouncing, and exploring and some pretty vistas of the sea and sailing ship.

Verdict: While not particularly historically accurate, this is a sweet and gentle series that will please young readers who like similar stories. I have a wide audience for Cynthia Rylant-type gentle readers and this will definitely find a place in my transitional chapters.

ISBN: 9781682632918; Published October 2023 by Peachtree; Borrowed from another library in my consortium