Scuffy the Tugboat is a children's book written by Gertrude Crampton and illustrated by Tibor Gergely. The book was first published in 1946 as part of the Little Golden Books series.
Scuffy is a toy tugboat who wishes for "bigger things" than sailing in the bathtub. The Man with the Polkadot Tie (who owns a toy store) and his son take Scuffy to a small brook in a pasture, and soon the current carries him away. At first Scuffy is pleased. The brook grows into a stream which turns into a small river and finally a larger river. Scuffy is overwhelmed by the sheer size of things around him. As he is just about to sail off into the endless ocean, he is rescued by the man and his boy and returned to the bathtub where Scuffy is now content to remain.
Scuffy the Tugboat should not be confused with Tuffy the Tugboat, which is a different book, about a different tugboat, with no relation to Scuffy.[1]
As of 2001, Scuffy the Tugboat was the eighth bestselling children's book of all time. [2]