King Bidgood's in the Bathtub

Children enjoy the ridiculous, and an authority figure who won't get out of a bathtub is certainly that. Like many picture books, Don and Audrey Wood's whimsically illustrated "King Bidgood's in the Bathtub" is geared toward 4-8-year-olds but would appeal to the love for the absurd that resides in readers of all ages.A major theme of King Bidgood is that the solution to what seems like an impossible problem is often quite simple and can be solved by a mere child. The young page in this story enlists the help of all his "betters"--a knight, a queen, a duke, and the entire court--to get the king out of the bathtub, but in the end, he (a simple servant boy) outwits them all. While the others invent elaborate needs that the king must attend to--battles, feasts, fishing, and dancing--the page simply pulls the plug.Much of the book's humor lies in the characterization of the king and his court. Rather than get out of the tub or reject the court's expressed needs, the king tries to satisfy the needs while remaining where he's at. He gladly welcomes the knight to battle in his tub, the queen to feast in his tub, the duke to fish in his tub, and--to every child's delight--the entire court to dance in his tub. These are feats that can only be accomplished through pure, fun-loving imagination on the part of the illustrator and the readers.As the book progresses, the court's facial responses are grossly exaggerated, their expressions of amazement and dismay heightening. And when the court fail in their attempts, they try to preserve their dignity, however wet and bedraggled they may be. The king, on the other hand, is completely at ease until the very end of the book, when suddenly the page adopts a look of immense satisfaction and pulls the bathtub plug, and the king is left astonished and fumbling for a towel.In addition to providing humor and developing characters, the illustrations provide a rhythmic framework of light for the plot, alternating between the well-lit bathroom and the ever-changing quality of light in the castle hall, where the moon rises and falls. Within the general rhythmic framework of the illustrations lie fascinating details. The more one looks, the more one sees. The cake in the feast scene has a miniature king-in-bathtub figure on top; the knight in the battle scene accidentally leaves the bathroom with a tiny ship on the end of his scabbard . . . An observant reader will also notice that the chain to the bathtub plug is visible in every picture, as a foreshadowing of the solution.The text, also rhythmic, is unrhymed, but each time the king invites folks into his tub, his plea ends in a delightful three-word repetition: boom, boom, boom; yum, yum, yum; trout, trout, trout; and jig, jig, jig. In the end, though, the king is stunned into silence, and the last repetition--or last laugh, you might say--is not his own, but the tub's: glub, glub, glub.The book will leave children clamoring for more, and Don and Audrey Wood have plenty of others that will satisfy, including the award-winning "The Napping House," which has in common with King Bidgood a delightful brand of visual slapstick distinctive to the Woods. Both books would make an excellent addition to any child's or classroom's library.

My grandson loves this book, it is totally quirky with lavish and wonderful drawings. He wants me to read it over and over again!

The illustrations are funny and phenomenal! A favorite in our family. A beautiful book to give as a gift.

This book has been a family favorite for years. The repetitive language allows the kids to help read the story and finish sentences. Love this book!

The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and The stories are great definitely worth the purchase

I remembered my parents reading this book to me as a child and I adored the story and the pictures. I bought it for myself as an adult and the story and the pictures still hold up. Still delightfully silly. Well written and well drawn. A great picture book for all ages.

My four year old read this at preschool and could not stop laughing while telling me about it. I knew I had to add it to the collection. We love it.

An absolute classic, sustained through the ages and still loved by children today. I loved this book as a little child, about age 3 or 4 when I first read it, in the early 80s. I am Deaf, and my Deaf professor and his daughter, who is hard of hearing, also love this book. He read it to her when she was growing up, and by read, I assume he signed it to her in sign language. No one knew I was Deaf when I was 3, and I could not always tell what was going on, but this book is so beautifully illustrated, the faces on the characters are so expressive, and there is so much color and things to look at in the pictures that I imagine it is a reason that the book resonates with Deaf and Hard of Hearing children. I purchased this book on Amazon for my friend who recently had twin girls. I bought it for their first birthday. She has older children, 10 and 12, and they also love the book. I am not entirely sure why, but it seems to be a good book for children with different disabilities, and can be appreciated by many for its story as well as the illustrations.