The Bath Monster
Written by Colin Boyd
Illustrated by Tony Ross
Andersen Press USA   3/01/2016
978-1-5124-0426-5
32 pages    Ages 4—8

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“Have you ever wondered where your dirty bath water goes? The Bath Monster slurps it up of course! It’s his SECOND favorite food and no one wants to find out what his FIRST favorite food is . . .” [INSIDE JACKET]

Review
Jackson loves to play and get dirty—rolling down hills, landing in mud puddles—with his best friend, Dexter. Together, they make themselves a mucky, muddy mess from head to toes—and, somehow, between his toes. Every night Jackson’s mother looks at her yucky, mucky, son and says, “Look at you! Go and have a bath now or the Bath Monster will come and get you.” Jackson jumps into the tub, just to keep the Bath Monster at bay. The Bath Monster loves dirty water. The older Jackson gets the more he wonders about this Bath Monster. Parents do tend to make stuff up. Did mom make up The Bath Monster? Jackson decides to find out.
The Bath Monster, a cute bath time/bedtime story, will have youngsters hopping into a warm tub every night. One must feed the Bath Monster else, he might come looking for his FIRST favorite meal. No child wants to face this dilemma—except Jackson, whose curiosity gets the better of him. Mom goes to tuck Jackson into bed and finds his muddy teddy bear and a note. Jackson has indeed found out what the Bath Monster’s FIRST favorite food is to eat.
Tony Ross’s illustrations greatly enhance this story with art filled with movement and fun. The big hairy Bath Monster, who lives under the floorboards beneath the tub, is remarkably cute. His big, yellow smile lacks any scare, yet Jackson looks at you, the reader, and asks, “Me?” The note to mom explains where Jackson went, but the final spread lacks the needed moment: Jackson, walking hand-in-hand with the Bath Monster. Nevertheless, young children will love the idea of a bath monster slurping up their dirty bath water. The Bath Monster might just be the impetus to clean away all your child’s dirt, even behind the ears.
THE BATH MONSTER. Text and illustrations copyright © 201 by Colin Boyd. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Tony Ross. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Andersen Press USA, Minneapolis, MN.

Originally published in 2015 in Great Britain by Andersen Press Ltd.

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Reprinted with permission from THE BATH MONSTER © 2015 by Colin Boyd, Andersen Press USA, an imprint of Andersen Press Ltd. Distributed by Lerner Publishing Group. Illustrations © 2015 by Tony Ross.

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Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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The Bath Monster
Written by Colin Boyd
Illustrated by Tony Ross
Andersen Press USA 3/01/2016
9781512404265