The Green Bath

K-Gr 2—Sammy's neighbors' dad brings home a speedboat from the flea market while his father brings home a square, green, claw-footed bathtub. As the ill-mannered boys head to the beach for some boating, Sammy heads to the tub to clean up before Grandma arrives. While attempting to make his bath as adventurous as possible with bubbles, bathing suit, snorkel, water wings, and ocean song, something adventurous does happen. The great, green tub stands up, rolls down the stairs and out the back door, and then gallops to the beach. It dives into the warm water (tossing aside those boys next door in a bath-made wave) and swims with Sammy into the sea. They meet mermaids and race a sea serpent. They battle with pirates who want his bathtub (luckily the sea serpent is on their side). They get home just as Sammy's mother walks into the bathroom "without knocking, the way mothers sometimes do." Mahy's spot-on text is perfectly matched by Kellogg's illustrations done in his trademark style. Shades of green suffuse the scenes featuring the tub in a delightfully subtle and clever way. Sammy's abundant imagination is matched only by his actual bathtub escapade. Pair this rollicking tale with Susan Seligson's Amos: The Story of an Old Dog and His Couch (Little, Brown, 1987) and a version of "Aladdin" for a storytime highlighting unusual modes of transportation.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH