Little Scoot

February 1, 2021

K-Gr 2-This allegorical story of a small tugboat braving scary, stormy seas on its journey to rescue a trapped ship is not the 1939 adventures of Little Toot by Hardie Gramatky. Instead of a stuck ocean liner, it's a big barge that is stuck and which Little Scoot (not Little Toot) aids and then tugs to safety. In this short, unembellished tale of conquering one's fear, Dotlich's comfortable rhyme schemes are creative though repetitive, with a predictable yet satisfying ending that may facilitate general discussions with young elementary readers about overcoming worries. The spatial placement of the text mimics wave-like motions, but the very segmentation of the lines will confound emerging readers of an age to appreciate Little Scoot's simple victory. At times, the textual features change size and style to further emphasize the story's tone, but a young audience just learning left-to-right progression may have difficulty reading through the design scheme. A primary color scheme dominates each spread, with masses of periwinkle blue growing darker as the tugboat traverses into the turbulent waves. VERDICT The bold geometric design of the storm waves and determined tugboat will delight, although readability may be an issue for newer readers. Purchase for collections not already owning Gramatky's tale in its dozens of formats.-Rachel Mulligan, Pennsylvania State Univ.

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2021
Neither waves nor rain stays this stalwart tugboat from her duties. The skies are cloudy when Little Scoot receives word that Big Barge has gotten stuck and needs her help. Wary of the weather, she nonetheless toots and scoots toward the ship and into the approaching storm. Though battered by waves and blown by the wind, she is nonetheless able at last to reach Big Barge. It takes all her strength, but soon she's pulled him "out of sand, out of muck," and to the harbor. Similar in name to Hardie Gramatky's Little Toot and having the same job, Little Scoot, alas, lacks much of the charm of her predecessor. Anemic rhymes discuss the "stormiest storms" and "windy winds" while the story covers ground well trod by another classic, The Little Engine That Could, long ago. Little Scoot's unsubtly cartoony face seems oddly matched with the sometimes lovely backgrounds and set scenes. There are times too when the text is at outright odds with the art, as when readers are told that Little Scoot offers Big Barge a whistle of goodbye only to see her clearly yelling it out in the accompanying picture. Young harbor fans will find little worth tooting about in this book even if they haven't seen it all before. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 25.9% of actual size.) Scoot on by. (Picture book. 2-6)

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