Working Boats: Salmon Troller (Board Book): A Look-Inside Book

Tom Crestodina

Book cover for Working Boats: Salmon Troller (Board Book): A Look-Inside Book
Image for variant 9781632176264
Book cover for Working Boats: Salmon Troller (Board Book): A Look-Inside Book
Image for variant 9781632176264

Working Boats: Salmon Troller (Board Book): A Look-Inside Book

Working Boats: Salmon Troller (Board Book): A Look-Inside Book

Tom Crestodina

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Description

Look inside an amazing salmon troller in this sturdy board book shaped like a real boat!

Perfect for curious toddlers and preschoolers, this richly illustrated die-cut book brings the world of working boats to life through the story of Plucky the Salmon Troller!

Inspired by the bestselling picture book Working Boats, this engaging cross section book reveals a full day on the water. Page by page, children discover how things work aboard a salmon troller--from the engine room that powers the boat to the cozy bunks where the crew rests, and the chilly fish hold where the catch is stored (brrr!).

Clear, detailed illustrations show how every part of the boat has an important job, making this a fun and accessible introduction to fishing and maritime life. Durable pages and a unique boat-shaped design make it perfect for little hands and repeated reading--at home or on the go.

About the Author

Born in the midwest, artist Tom Crestodina has been working as a fisherman in Alaska for more than 20 years and studied marine engineering at the Seattle Maritime Academy. After the birth of his first child with his wife, Ania, he began making cutaway drawings of the vessels he was working on as a way to communicate with his small child while he was at sea. After other seafarers began to ask for drawings of their own vessels, he went on to document the maritime trades in his whimsical style, and his work is now carried in shops and and galleries all over the Pacific coast of North America. He lives in Bellingham, Washington, with Ania and their two children. Discover his art on his website TheScow.BigCartel.com.

Critical Reviews

"All aboard the Plucky in this eye-opening die-cut board book for nascent engineers and tech-curious children. People prepare the old boat for the sea, refreshing its paint and tinkering with its engine before heading out in search of a catch. Cross-sectioned, x-ray vision peeks into what's going on inside the boat's various rooms pair well with the lovely images of the seascapes it travels; the aurora borealis dance overhead as the freezer is steadily stacked with fish. The illustrations have a pleasing vintage quality, with bold lines and a varied, muted color palette."
--Foreword Reviews

PRAISE FOR WORKING BOATS

"Boys and girls -- and grown-ups -- intrigued by the maritime world of the North Pacific will get much pleasure and a pack of insider knowledge from Tom Crestodina's Working Boats"
--New York Times

"Working Boats is a great resource for kids, and as I mentioned earlier, their parents as well. The drawings will attract beginning readers, the text will keep bringing them back as they master their skills, and the complete package will appeal to grownups."
--Anchorage Daily News

"If a photo illustration is worth a thousand words, Crestodina's cut-away drawings give us more like five thousand words each. . . It is no cliché to say that, for the mariner inclined, from eight to eighty, this is the one book that does it all.
--National Fisherman

"Cross sections and exploded views abound in the detailed illustrations."
--Kirkus Reviews

"An informative and fun book for readers interested in boats and how they work, and the target audience will be engaged by the high level of detail."
--Booklist

"If your young reader is less interested in story and more interested in non-fiction -- especially the workings of a seagoing vessel -- then this book is a great gift choice."
--Montreal Gazette

Publishing Information

Publisher: Little Bigfoot
Pub date: 2026-01-27
Length: 22 pages

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