How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen

Tom is so good at fooling around that he does little else. His Aunt Fidget Wonkham-Strong, who thinks this is too much like having fun, calls upon the fearsome Captain Najork and his hired sportsmen to teach him a lesson. So the Captain challenges Tom to three rounds of womble, muck, and sneedball, certain that he will win. However, when it comes to fooling around, Tom doesn’t fool around, and his skills prove so polished that the results of the contest are completely unexpected. . .

Russell Hoban is an American who has lived in England for thirty-six years. He is the author of more than sixty books including such celebrated novels as Riddley Walker, Pilgerman, and Turtle Diary. His two classic children’s books, How Tom Beat Captain Najork and A Near Thing for Captain Najork, were reissued by Godine in 2006. Hoban has an active fan club called The Kraken and has inspired symposiums based on his writing.

Quentin Blake is one of the UK’s living cultural treasures. He has written and illustrated dozens of books and provided pictures for hundreds more, including the children’s novels of Roald Dahl.