The Bath Monster

February 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 1-Jackson loves playing outdoors, rolling down hills, and climbing trees. But at the end of the day Mother says, "Go and have a bath now or the Bath Monster will come and get you." And with that invitation, we are introduced to Boyd's deliciously wicked Bath Monster, who slurps up his second favorite food-dirty bathwater. One day Jackson decides to meet his nemesis and determine what the Bath Monster's first favorite food might be. Boyd plays on young readers' imaginations about the dirty bathwater going down the drain in the tub. Pages are filled with animation. Text lines swirl down the pipe in a flowing curve as readers view the large brownish-black monster with gigantic eyes and spiky yellow teeth slurp the water through his special red and white straw. VERDICT Children will shiver and giggle as they relish repeated readings once they are privy to the final joke on Mom.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2016
Never mind a monster under the bed; this one's under the tub. Jackson loves playing outside. He acquiesces to his mother's demand that he bathe when he gets dirty since he knows that the Bath Monster's second favorite food is dirty bath water. The implication is that dirty children are its first favorite, so Jackson is keen on keeping the monster satisfied by bathing and draining the tub. Eventually, however, he begins to doubt the Bath Monster's existence and refuses to get into the tub. The next spread shows a filthy, clothed, and smug boy walking away with his teddy bear, unaware that underneath the floorboards, a huge, grimy Bath Monster expectantly looks at the pipe to the bathtub drain. Compelled by its hunger, the monster searches for its first favorite food. "Me?" Jackson asks looking out at the readers. The answer doesn't come on the next page when his mother finds only the dirty teddy bear in Jackson's bed; instead readers discover the punch line at book's end in a note saying that Jackson left to make the Bath Monster's first favorite food: mud pies. Throughout, Ross' pictures of human characters (all white) channel the energy and humor of Quentin Blake's art, and the illustrations generally help ease some choppy textual pacing. Good, clean fun. (Picture book. 3-6)

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July 1, 2016
When Jackson gets dirtier than he's ever been but refuses to take a bath, the greedy Bath Monster who lives under his bathroom floor loses patience and abducts him. But don't worry: as it turns out, the monster's favorite food is mud pies, not boys. The story doesn't make much sense, but Ross's vibrant, energetic, and gleefully muddy illustrations may carry readers through.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)