No More Water in the Tub! ANNOTATION
After filling the bathtub too full one night, William goes sailing through his apartment building floor by floor in his tub, collecting neighbors in his wake.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
William is getting ready for his bath when the faucet breaks, sending him and his tub surfing through the building! On his wet ride, he collects a strange fleet in his wake -- from Uncle Nash, who sits in the trash, to Little Dottie, who sails the potty. Who will William carry off next? Bath-lovers and bath-haters alike will want to know! "Full of amusing detail that will keep young readers coming back again and again." -- School Library Journal
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Arnold follows No Jumping on the Bed! with another open-ended, goofy tale of unforeseen consequences featuring brothers Walter and William. As Walter helps William fill the bathtub, their mother cautions, ``Leave the faucet on another minute, then no more water in the tub!'' Walter cranks the handle too quickly and too far, breaking it, and soon there is water, water everywhere. The current sweeps the claw-footed tub out the door of the boys' apartment and down the stairs, into one apartment after another. As the flood rages, William sits comfortably in his ceramic canoe, while the startled neighbors cling to a variety of makeshift flotation devices: ``Out went Mabel on the table.... Uncle Nash sat in the trash... Little Dottie sailed the potty.'' A cumulative roster of these rafts plays up the fun. Arnold uses colored pencil and watercolors to render every blue splash and shadowy hallway in smooth detail. Each object-bathroom fixture, floating toy or piece of furniture-is a masterpiece of shading and shape. The only problem here is that the adults' faces are more expressive and effectively drawn than the children's. Even so, the illustrations alone could explain to beginning readers the story of this wild water ride. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
Children's Literature - Kathleen Karr
Walter is overseeing younger brother William's bath. Unfortunately, the faucet comes off in his hand, a flood gushes forth, and William and his tub set off on an adventure that takes him from the top floor of his apartment building, down successive flights of stairs, to become a hero. Arnold uses the classic repetitive device of "There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly" to build the humor of each successive incident in this amusing story.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 1Fans of No Jumping on the Bed! (Dial, 1987) will relish this similar cumulative adventure that demands to be read aloud. At bath time, William's older brother Walter (a reformed bed-jumper) is supposed to turn off the tap before the tub gets too full. The story that follows is his tale of what would happen if.... The tub overflows, and William, with his bathtub, goes rushing out the door on a flood of water. Past his parents, down the stairs, picking up neighbors in his wake: ``Out went Mabel on the table. Sue and Vern clung to a fern. Uncle Nash sat in the trash. Patty Fuzzle steered her puzzle. Little Dottie sailed the potty.'' After the flood puts out a fire and the group lands in the street, William is dubbed a hero...and Walter's story is over. But, engrossed in the tale, Walter forgets the water, the tub overflows, and out goes William.... Arnold's soft pencil and watercolor illustrations are full of amusing details that will keep young readers coming back again and again. His stylized, cartoonlike figures look appropriately stunned by the unfolding events. This should be a popular choice for story hour.Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library
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