I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the pictures in this book. They were bright and colorful. I thought the story was a little to long from some younger kids.

Good story with a strong message that money is not everything, but the book is not for a younger audience. It is long. Illustrations are good.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

This story is very cute, but also very adult. Refrains like “money isn’t everything” are common and much more an older crowd thought. The little tugboat is soon replaced by newer and bigger tugs. This sends him looking for a new place and new work. During a storm his small but mighty power is put to the test, and he comes out winning. The story is nice but a tad long, and the illustrations are just so-so. I think this tale would be better as a spoken word tale in the hands of a master storyteller.

A lovely story with a great lesson to be learned. You are never too small to do anything. Tambov is a small but powerful tugboat who just wants to do her job and Roger is the only person who believes she can. To go with this powerful story are some beautiful illustrations that seem to have a painted texture to them. Whilst this is a work of fiction there is also an educational aspect to the book that I think children will enjoy.

It's a story about a small but powerful tugbout name Tambov. One day this old boat it's replaced by new ones more powerful and fast, so Tambov must find another harbor. The pictures are nice.
Thanks Netgalley for this copy.

I received this arc from Netgalley for an honest review. I’m always a fan of books about ships and so I was excited for the chance to read this. Though it is a good story with and excellent message it was not written with kids in mind. It’s fairly long and should only focus on the tug, however, it focuses a lot on how the tug boat captain feels. Nice illustrations.

Very sweet story about a brave little tugboat and her skipper. I loved the illustrations! Adorable with very rich colors.

Tambov was small tugboat that only wanted to work hard. He tried to move boulders to build a breakwater but was just too small. He was replaced by a faster, newer tugboat that could move twice as many boulders. Tambov and his owner, Roger, find work in another town where a steam engine tugboat was needed.

The premise of this book is a positive one for all. Work hard and you will succeed. You may have to make changes like relocation, but things will work out. The illustrations are nice and colorful.

The writing is advanced for a 5-year-old reader. It needs to be more precise. By removing excess language such as the entire scene in the café, it will be more engaging for you readers. Using simpler language and removing unnecessary information will make this a delightful story for children.


I received an eBook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a hard book to review. As an adult I loved the illustrations and the messages that this book was trying to convey, larger isn't always better; working together can be the best decision of all, having a job that you love and where people appreciate you can be better than a higher paying, more posh job.

That said, my 5 1/2 year old grandson didn't like anything but the illustrations. The story was too long winded and centered also on the captain of the ship and not just the tugboat. At this age I think the story should be more concise and straightforward.

The cover, etc really lends the customer to think that the book is basically only about the boats and their "personalities" when in fact the captain and people that work the various shipyards are important in this story.

I can't say that I would recommend this book.

The first thing which went through my mind when I opened the book was "Wow!", because the pictures are pretty stunning. The ocean sparkles in bright blue and cute tugboat Tambov, she sure is a wee beauty.

Tambov's skipper Roger takes great pride in his work. Every morning he's the early bird, up and ready, cleaning away and oiling the machinery. They work hard all day, every day, but they make a splendid team, our Tambov and Roger.
After a nasty storm a big job is waiting for the two and sadly, it just takes too long for tiny Tambov to manage it all in time and bigger, faster tugboats are build. Talnov and Serov take over and Roger and Tambov lose their job.

Luckily Roger keeps looking for work and eventually comes across an ad in the papers where a small town far away has a position for a tugboat exactly like our Tambov. And off they are, ready to travel a far distance for a new job and a new life in the town of Active. (I wonder what life must be like for the people who live in Passive.)

There they are very welcome and life goes back to daily routine, until another severe storm causes an emergency and suddenly Tambov has to tug the now struggling Talnov and Serov, the rival tugboats which got them out of work in the first place, safely back to the harbour.
After performing an outstanding job, their old hometown would love for the two to return to their old work, even offering a much better pay than Active can afford.

Will Roger and Tambov accept the offer and return?

Sadly, the storytelling is quite longwinded and there are endless expressions, which a young audience will find tricky to understand:
"Roger had to step out on deck to attach the tow-line to the bollard, and throw the heaving line to the first tug in line." Got it?
Even I had to read the sentence twice.
We hear the harbour needs a "breakwater" but there's no explanation for the kids what it means.

The book is aimed at children 5 and up and the words are too difficult and there's no need for it, except they plan to take over Roger's job.
Another thing which rolled from my tongue as heavy as a stromwave are the tugboat names: Tambov, Talnov, Serov. My son had problems to keep track of who's who and so did I.

On the other hand the illustrations are simply superb and the story has a very good moral.
Roger is prepared to look for work and a new life elsewhere, even when it's miles away, after facing unemployment in his hometown and on the way he understands fulfilment and happiness are more important. Money isn't everything.

The story of Tambov really tugged on my heart and is well worth a read, but it simply needs some polishing.