On My Way to the Bath

PreS-K—As evidenced in this delightful debut from Maizes, the dreaded words "Bath Time!" are often followed by parental rants of: "Now!" "Today!" and "I mean it! Do you hear me?!?!" Of course, Livi hears her mother's call but she chooses to ignore it as she imagines herself as a snake, a tuba player, and a gymnast. Upon hearing the ultimate of ultimatums from her mother ("I'm counting to 10!"), the youngster stalks into the bathroom as a jungle cat, leaping upon her unsuspecting mother, who points to the bubbling tub with a mandated "get in." And as all good children (and parents) know, once Livi gets into the tub-she doesn't want to get out. The story ends with a mischievous child turning into a shark that goes swimming off into the azure blue endpapers after an unsuspecting rubber ducky. Paraskevas's lively illustrations have a perfect hint of whimsy infused into their colorful displays. His artwork is reminiscent of David Shannon's in Too Many Toys! (Scholastic, 2008) as he is able to translate the precociousness of childhood into his digitally created art, capturing Livi's movement as a slithering snake or as a professional gymnast tumbling across the spreads. Mom's voice is captured in floating speech bubbles, adding up to the look of surprise and exasperation on her face when readers finally get to meet her as Livi the jungle cat pounces. This is sure to be a crowd-pleaser in storytimes, classrooms, and laps everywhere.—Lisa Gangemi Kropp, Half Hollow Hills Public Library, Dix Hills, NY