A small boy gazes out over the water at a passing tugboat. He wants to play but the tugboat is busy.

Chugga tugga tugboat
Chugging out to sea,
Can’t you, won’t you, play with me?

The tugboat must guide ships big and small through the port. It must rescue, fight fires, and race!!

Splish splosh,
Wish wash,
Toot toot toot!

A companion picture book to Crane Guy, Chugga Tugga Tugboat is for younger children.

The same illustration style flows through into this book – colourful, busy and informative, showing all the jobs that a tugboat performs on any day.

Meanwhile, between the boy’s pleas to play, he is occupying himself, looking, building, imagining being a tugboat. But his pleas are actually to his busy mum, who finally sits down with him having a bath with his own tugboat to play with.

The fun repeating rhyme is easy for a young child to pick up the words as it is read aloud.

Perfect for littlies who love boats, ships or action upon the water.

Author – Sally Sutton

Illustrator – Sarah Wilkins

Picture Book

(2024, Penguin NZ, New Zealand Author, New Zealand Illustrator, Aotearoa, Tugboat, Ships, Boats, Ports, Wharf, Wharves, Play, Playing, Rescue, Fire Fighting, Repetitive Rhyme, Imagination)