Waves in the Bathtub

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Young Kady is taking a bath. She sings a bathtub song about waves. Waves
begin to appear in the bathtub. Just little waves at first. But the
waves grow bigger. And bigger. AND BIGGER. Eventually, Kady is not
splashing in the bathtub but swimming among whales, porpoises, and polar
bears in the open sea.

Three times Kady’s mother interrupts the process. Each time the waves
start over again. Finally Kady is pulled from her bath and put to bed,
and mother has a chance to have a nice quiet soak in the tub herself.
She starts humming the bathtub song and little waves begin to appear.
But the waves grow bigger. And bigger. AND BIGGER....

Eugenie Fernandes’s illustrations are so striking that they seem to
dominate her own prose. It is only after the third or fourth reading
that it becomes apparent that the story structure and bathtub rhyme are
every bit as well crafted as the dynamic water colors. Sheet music for
the bathtub song is also included at the end of the book, just in case
you need it. Highly recommended.