28 July 2015 GET OUT OF MY BATH! by Britta Teckentrup, Candlewick/Nosy Crow, August 2015, 24p., ISBN: 978-0-7636-8006-0

“Let’s take a bath, pretend we’re on a boat.

Here comes the big storm, we’ll never stay afloat!

Splash out the water, our lives are at stake!

Now we’re empty, but the bathroom is a lake.”

--Peter Alsop, “What d’ya Wanna Do?”

“Guten morgan, mein Herr. Konnen Sie nach ein tea haben? Ah, the filthy Englander, gootey morgee.”

--John Lennon, from the bathtub scene in “A Hard Day’s Night”

It has been a generation since I led daily circle times. But I still get excited when I discover a high-energy picture book that will make a great circle time read.

There are always some little kids who resist bathtime. Therefore, there are always some parents who are grateful for books, songs, and discussions that might encourage their kids to enjoy bathtime.

GET OUT OF MY BATH! is a book that serves both of these purposes.

It’s bathtime for an elephant named Ellie. She has her yellow rubber duckie accompanying her. We are going to get involved:

“It’s Ellie’s bath time.

Can you help her make some waves?

Gently shake the book from side to side, then turn the page to see what happens…”

We turn the page and see the results of our interaction. But, in turning succeeding pages, we discover an unexpected consequence: A crocodile has shown up in the bathtub! We are encouraged to shout, “Get out, Crocodile!” But things just get worse: First there is a flamingo in the tub. Next, a tiger jumps in. Then a mouse shows up. Our yelling and book shaking does nothing to make these animals go away. It requires Ellie using her words and then sucking all the bath water up into her trunk to persuade the animals to finally leave. At last, she can squirt the water back into the tub and continue on with her bath.

It’s a fun book that two-year-olds will want to participate in reading over and over. I’m just glad that I won’t be having to clean up after their baths tonight!

Richie Partington, MLIS

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