Kirk, Shoshanna and Sara Gillingham. T is for Tugboat: Navigating the Seas from A to Z. Illustrated by Various. Chronicle Books, 2008. ISBN 9780811860949. $15.99. 40 p.
Reviewer: Kate Reynolds
Reading Level: Preschool, Primary
Rating: Excellent
Genre: Picture books; Informational books;
Subject: Navigation--History--Encyclopedias--Juvenile literature; Naval history--Encyclopedias--Juvenile literature; Books--Reviews;
With a bevy of alphabet books available, this volume of maritime words stands out as both educational and entertaining. Most of the letters have multiple words or phrases associated with them, and the words all have some sort of visual representation — a photograph, a diagram, an illustration, etc. An informative and appealing introduction to "navigating the seas" for young children, this alphabet book may also appeal to older children, because it includes types of ships that may be unfamiliar (a zulu is a Scottish fishing boat and a junk is a Chinese sailboat), Morse code, and even a two-page spread illustrating various knots. After Z is a diagram of a ship with parts labeled and the endpapers display the international code of maritime flags. Ideal for any nautical fan to share with a child.
Volume 29, no. 1 (Sep/Oct 2008)
