Working Boats - by Tom Crestodina (Hardcover)

About the Book

This visually engaging book filled with cross sections and exploded views of working boats is perfect for children--and even adults--curious about the mechanics of boats and the lives of people who work on boats.

Book Synopsis

"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

This visually engaging book filled with cross sections and exploded views of working boats is perfect for children--and even adults--curious about the mechanics of boats and the lives of people who work on boats.

Filled with full-page spreads of cross sections of ten intriguing working boats, this book provides a glimpse into their inner workings, as well as highlights of each boat's unique engineering components that enable it to do the job it was built for.

Want to know what goes on behind the scenes of a Coast Guard rescue, what it's like to work on a science research vessel, or what's involved in crabbing? The book includes illustrated details about each boat's mission and jobs people do on board, as well as a glimpse of what life is like on a working boat.

Packed with information that's fun and practical, the book also includes details about maritime instruments, such as how a radar works, on-water safety gear, diesel engines, and mechanics, such as how water is pumped through a fire boat.

Review Quotes

"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

About the Author

Born in the Midwest, artist Tom Crestodina has been working as a fisherman in Alaska for over 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 galleries all over the Pacific coast of North America. He lives in Bellingham, Washington, with Ania and their two children. You can find out more about Tom and his work on his website: TheScow.BigCartel.com