Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 1-Wearing swimsuits, flippers, and snorkel gear, enthusiastic animal bathers join Elephant in his claw-foot tub. Some arrive on foot, others by bike or helicopter. As bath water sloshes onto the floor, the animals jump into improvised boats. They maneuver about to rescue a lost rubber duck and reel in a sweet-smelling banana "fish." The illustrations are humorous and detailed, depicting a giraffe in red high heels and a sheep in green flippers propelling a boat forward. Short sentences will get readers to the final spread quickly, but it's here that they will need to wonder, "But what happened to the water?" As in Audrey Wood's King Bidgood's in the Bathtub (Harcourt, 2005), this story shows how imagination can take children to fun places.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
With plenty of room in the bathtub, Elephant is joined by a host of friends and tub toys. When the last "crew" member arrives, they prepare "to set sail for the high seas"--only to discover that all the water is missing. The text is light on plot, but the action-filled illustrations set a lively pace. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A young elephant is taking a bath in one of those lovely, old, claw-footed tubs that sits on a checkered tile floorgot to be Europe. Along comes a cat that joins the elephant, then a baby giraffe ushered in by its mother clad in a housecoat and sporting red high heels. Mice parachute in, an owl arrives with a snorkel and an alligator with what looks like a quilted helicopter. The gathering of creatures swells and swells, water spills everywhere and a rubber ducky ends up with a banana peel draped on its headgot to be theater of the absurd. This book is all lively and cheerful cockamamie, while Andres draws the action in chicken-scratch pen and ink that contrives to be both wiry and weighty. Again there is that European feelit might be the light or the Old World sense of the bath toysbut the waves are pure Hiroshige. Plus, the story has a nice, tight arcelevating mayhem; a busy, oddball climax; good and drained finalethat gives it a pleasing satiety. Just like a good bath. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
