TUB TOYS
by Terry Miller Shannon and Timothy Warner
illustrated by Lee Calderon
Tricycle Press
ISBN: 9781582462356
Ages 4-8
32 pages

One enthusiastic bather and more than 20 tub toys make for an excellent (if crowded) bath and a charming read. TUB TOYS, a picture book written by mother and son Terry Miller Shannon and Timothy Warner and illustrated by Lee Calderon, is the story of one little guy’s attempts to stall his bath --- not to avoid it, but to make sure that all his favorite things get to go into the tub with him!

Shannon and Warner's prose is light-hearted and sweet: rhyming but not at the expense of good word choice. Their young hero scrambles around the house looking for tub toys expected (rubber duck, empty bottles, toy ships) and unexpected (noodle strainer, blocks, spatula). As he adds them all to the bubbles and pulls off his clothes, he imagines his parents as a shark and an octopus. The text counts up to five, but this is not exactly a counting book.

The story is perfectly complemented by Calderon's quirky and bright computer-generated illustrations. They are fun and energetic but not silly.

TUB TOYS is a joyous look at bath time and is sure to please wee bathers before, after or even during the bath! It is an enjoyable read for kids and grown-ups alike.

    --- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

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