Scaredy Bath

Foster Blake (No One Likes a Fart) invites readers to walk a mile in the shoes--or at least the fancy claw-feet--of the eponymous yellow bathtub. Scaredy Bath spends all day dreading the nightly washing ordeal; a series of vignettes depict the tub's mounting anxiety until the household's resident kids, portrayed with light brown skin, appear "covered in spaghetti and dirt and smells" and proceed to "yank the plug! They'd whack the tap! They'd thrash and slide! They'd even pee in the water!" But after several lonely nights pass without the usual chaos, Scaredy Bath is so happy to see the family return--visual cues indicate they've been away at the beach--that even the inevitable peeing-in-the-water incident can't harsh the tub's new mellow. The story has familiar narrative contours, but its dramatic text should be a crowd pleaser ("Think about what I have to put up with," says the toilet). Images by Gray-Barnett (Katerina Cruickshanks), which have the textures and visual spontaneity of watercolor and ink sketches, bubble with an affection for the chaos that is daily family life. Ages 3-7. (Nov.)

PreS-K--A humorous story of a tub not happy about the children of the house bathing in it. Every night the bathtub in a house gets so scared of the children who bathe in it that eventually it earns the name Scaredy Bath. The sink and the toilet, the latter with its own complaints, tell the tub to enjoy it. When the children are gone for a few days, Scaredy Bath misses them. They return, from the beach, and the tub is pleased; further, Scaredy Bath enjoys the sweet small baby now bathing in the tub. Blake continues her child-sourced humor (No One Likes a Fart) and the Quentin Blake-like illustrations certainly keep pace. VERDICT A delightful story where children will be enamored of the conceit that tubs have feelings and can chat. Great for funny story hours.--Annmarie Braithwaite