Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Little Toot
Picture Book
For ages 3 to 7
Penguin, 2007 ISBN: 978-0399247132
There once was a little tugboat who was not only “handsome” but also “the cutest, silliest little tugboat you ever saw.” Now this little tugboat could never manage to make much of a noise come out of his whistle. Indeed the best he could manage was a little “toot-toot-toot” sound. And that was how he got his name – Little Toot.
Little Toot worked on a very busy river where ships loaded with cargoes of all kinds came and went all the time. He came from a hardworking family of tugboats but unfortunately Little Toot, unlike his father and his grandfather, did not like to pull big ships around on high seas. Little Toot much preferred to play in calm waters than to do serious work.
There came a day when Little Toot’s playing annoyed one of the other tugs so much that it did something which quite frightened the little tug. After that all the other tugs made fun of Little Toot.
Little Toot decided that the time had come to stop being a silly tugboat who played all day and he tried to get the big ships to let him tow them, but none of the big ships took him seriously. Instead they ignored the little tugboat and sailed on by. Poor Little Toot was so despondent. Would he ever get his chance to do something meaningful?
In this newly restored version of this classic picture book, Hardie Gramatky’s wonderful story is once again told with illustrations that are in bright vibrant color. Once again Little Toot saves the day and once again he delights his young audience with his courage and quick thinking. Grown ups who enjoyed reading Little Toot when they were children will be delighted to share this charming little picture book with the children in their lives. Readers might enjoy going to the Little Toot website to find out more about this special book and its creator.
