One Amazing Book!

Every so often, I get really excited about a new book. Working Boats: An Inside Look at Ten Amazing Watercraft by Tom Crestodina is one I keep returning to with delight. From its eye-catching cover, to it’s meticulously crafted drawings, informative content, and end papers illustrating more than 20 knots and hitches, this 56-page book is a treasure.

Published in 2022 by Little Bigfoot, the book features ten types of boats: salmon troller, tugboat, salmon seiner, king crabber, Coast Guard cutter, halibut schooner, fireboat, Bristol Bay gill netter, NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) research ship, and double-ended ferry.

Crestodina really does give the reader “an inside look.” Each boat is first illustrated with a cross-section of the boat at work — most are double-page spreads — followed by schematic drawings that show every deck on board.

 Additional sections are devoted to working boats and their people, safety gear, and engines and propulsion. And there’s more! One to four more pages of spot illustrations and text blocks expand on topics specific to each boat. The section on Coast Guard cutters, for example, includes visual and textual information on jet boats, rescue at sea, types of cutters, survival suits, radar, and navigation aids.

While the amount of visual and written information is aimed at youth ages 6-10, the clarity and detail of both drawings and text will intrigue almost anyone old enough to hold a book. Normally complex subjects, such as engines and propulsion, are explained succinctly and clearly.

Crestodina incorporates a wide range of sea-related topics, such as resource conservation, the history of Seattle’s Duwamish fireboat, methods used by NOAA research ships to map the ocean, how different types of fishing boats operate, and tips on reading nautical charts, to name just a few.

Crestodina’s attention to detail extends to the people working on his boats; they reflect reality by including women and people of color. Overall design of the book is thoughtful and engaging, beginning with its large format, effective use of white space, creative end papers, and inclusion of a table of contents and glossary.

It’s a book I’ll keep in my personal collection, as well as recommend and purchase for others.