Teelo, the feline hero of this adventure story, is a reluctant traveller. When he loses his first home, he is adopted by Victor, a kindly vet who lives by himself on the seemingly idyllic Cloud Island. Teelo has barely settled into cottage life when new adoptees trespass on his paradise. Before long, he finds himself competing for space with a rooster, hens, a terrier, and a snake. In desperation, he ventures outside and settles into Victor’s kayak for a quiet nap. He awakes to find himself being paddled by his gleeful master toward Thunder Rock, where perilous encounters with rough waters and gigantic sea creatures persuade him to be more tolerant of his housemates.

The thematic importance of movement in this story is carried nicely into the dynamic text, specifically in the descriptive adjectives and verbs. For example, in Victor’s kitchen, Ruby the rooster dances flamenco, and Sylvie the snake sashays up the lamp stand. The sea creatures around Thunder Rock are presented more soberly than the cottage pets because they are more realistic, but they embody at least as much energy. The eagles, killer whales, and sea lions in this scene complement the domestic menagerie, balancing the fantastic wildness of Cloud Island with a plausible but equally awe-inspiring wilderness. Coffey, a widely published travel writer who lives on a small island in B.C., has drawn on her surroundings and extensive kayaking experience to capture what is most exhilarating about exploring the West Coast.

The luxurious description in the text is well matched by the richly coloured, detailed gouache paintings by veteran children’s book illustrator Eugenie Fernandes. Strong diagonals and swirling lines create movement in the land and seascapes, and the gestures and facial expressions of the pets convey the incessant, frenetic motion that Teelo comes to accept as part of his domestic milieu. What I enjoy most in these illustrations is their subtle communication of Teelo’s point of view: that of the long-suffering cat watching the foolishness of the too-hospitable master. One of the most amusing frames shows Victor posing on the beach with his pets, his outfit and facial expression suggesting that the man fancies himself a modern-day Robinson Crusoe, and the watchful cat’s expression implying that this is the stuff of satire.