Funny, imaginative, and subversive—sure to be a read-aloud favorite.
Who thought a bathtub could dread bathtime!
Scaredy Bath spends all day every day fretting about the evening. Thumping footsteps coming up the stairs, the hot water, toys and bubbles, and two smelly and stinky little ones—it’s unbearable! When the big hairy dog jumps in, Scaredy Bath decides that’s enough and attempts to leave, but its feet are stuck to the floor. The sink and toilet try to put things into perspective, hilariously (“Think about what I have to put up with,” quips the toilet), but Scaredy Bath still loathes bathtime…until one day, no one comes. And Scaredy Bath is faced with an even more unpleasant prospect—abandonment. Perhaps bathtime might not be so bad after all. Dry, understated text that underscores the topsy-turvy situation is accompanied by giggle-inducing illustrations rendered in loose lines. One image of a child peeing in the bath might make adults cringe but will delight young ones seeking to avoid their own bathtimes. Depicted in bright yellow, Scaredy Bath shows a remarkable range of facial expressions—wide-eyed, cringing, sad, afraid—especially on a spread in which the tub is seen waiting all day for bathtime. This is a funny tale in a long line of narrative twists designed to encourage children to engage in and enjoy a necessary part of childhood life, among them Mitchell Sharmat’s Gregory the Terrible Eater (1980), illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. Scaredy Bath’s family is light-skinned; one of the adults is blond, the other is bald, and the children are dark-haired. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Funny, imaginative, and subversive—sure to be a read-aloud favorite. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-52063-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.
Another creature is on the loose.
The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728274300
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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