Animal Baths


This bath is about as refreshing as a dip in the Susquehanna

THREE PROS
*Kids will get a kick out of mimicking the grooming habits of different animals after reading this  
*Bob Barner's illustrations are pretty good, especially when compared to the text
*Manatees, my friend, manatees

THREE CONS 
*Outside of a couple of cute pages (with the bears being the obvious standout), I actively disliked most of the rhymes in here 
*It's been a while since I've encountered an ending as abrupt and unsatisfying as this one 
*What does it mean when it says that "sharks line up ... for a gentle check"

ONE DAD'S OPINION
I'm not sure how a story that can so easily be summed up in a sentence (see pro #1) can end up feeling so unfocused.  If Barner was going for the whole talking underwater effect, then he nailed it.  But I don't think that was the goal.  In the sink or swim world of children's books, this one just barely floats above the sea floor.  Donate it after the first read, so you get the benefit of the idea without enduring the prolonged water torture
.    

Buy / Borrow / DONATE / Destroy



No comments: