Bath Time!

Bath Time!, with its bright and bold art and punchy sentences, is a delightful board book sure to engage even the youngest of babies. Every turn of the page reveals a new bathtub scene with different aquatic animal bath toys, including a variety of mammals, penguins, and turtles. Penguins, for instance, are perched on the tub ledge, poised to hop in the water as one would imagine them doing on an ice floe in Antarctica. Loons are shown sailing gaily on top of the bathtub “lake.” The final pages depict a smiling baby of indeterminate gender playing with his or her animal toys, with parents gazing lovingly upon the scene.

The use of alliteration pleasingly enhances the melodic quality of the text. Words, such as “fen,” which may not be familiar, provide an opportunity for explanation and discussion. The pictures also encourage interaction and will capture a young reader’s attention with rich aquamarines and other beautiful tertiary colours. Bath Time! is a book for all home and children’s library collections.