Hardie Gramatky (1907–1979)

I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I like the descriptive language and the plot of the book, however, I did not like the length of it. The language provided many adjectives such as, “chubby smokestack.” In addition there were similes throughout the entire book, for example, “…a volley of smoke balls which bubbled over his wake like balloons.” In addition, the plot of the story is motivating and suspenseful. This story creates drama that makes the reader wonder show more if Little Toot will make it. However, because Little Toot does become a hero, the book proves motivation and determination. Although the story has its pros, I think the length was a bit too long and some of the pages in the book were unnecessary. Some of the text drags out the drama, which could bore a reader and make them not as engaged. Overall, this was an engaging book! show less

I thought that this book was cute, however I didn't think that there was much that was special about it. For example, the story had a really basic plot, Little Toot didn't like to work so he played all day, the other tugboats saw what he was doing and made fun of him, telling him things like, "you only know how to play." Little Toot gets sad, and then there is a storm and then Little Toot turns out to save the day. There just wasn't anything that was special about this story, there was show more nothing in particular that stood out during the story. The biggest part of the story was Little Toot rescuing a big ship that was stuck between two rocks by puffing out SOS with his smoke stack to grab the attention of the other tug boats. I did like the illustrations in this book, however. I thought that it was cool how the tug boats were more detailed and vibrant than the backgrounds/water. For example, the tug boats were very colorful with bold colors such as yellow, red, and green and the backgrounds were neutral and the water was a dull blue. It really made you focus on just the tug boats and not everything else in the background.

The big idea of this story is to never underestimate someone. The other tug boats underestimated Little Toot because he played all the time and did things like create figure eights, play thread-the-needle around the piers, and glided anytime he could. They didn't think that he could work as hard as they did and in the end he was the one who helped get the ship out between the two rocks. So, no matter how big or small you are, you should never underestimate someone because they do not do the same things as you do, or because they do not do the same things the way you do them. show less

Little Toot is a tugboat who does not want to tug. Instead, he wants to make figure eights in the harbor and bother all the other tugboats. But when he ends up all alone on the open water as a storm is rolling in, it's up to him to save a stuck ocean liner.

The first sequel to Gramatky's first children's book, 1939's Little Toot, tells the story of the adventurous tugboat's journey across the Atlantic to London. There he encounters London Bridge, the Henley Royal Regatta, and (RMS) Queen Elizabeth herself, who tows him home.