Papa Was a Sea Captain

A young girl and her father become curious about each other’s worlds during a summer together

One summer, a girl faces weeks alone with her papa while her mama cares for an ailing grandparent in faraway Portugal. Papa doesn’t know how to have kid fun—instead of playing street hockey or riding bikes, he talks about ships and Morse code. It’s going to be the most boring summer ever.

But as the days pass, the girl witnesses Papa’s nautical life firsthand and hears about his adventures at sea. His job as a marine surveyor with the Coast Guard is more interesting than she thought, and she discovers a new side of him. Their bond grows with every inspection, investigation, and bedtime story, and by the end of the summer they even try a little bit of kid fun together.

This gentle, relatable story centers the way a child-parent bond develops through the power of sharing interests and experiences with an open mind.