Time for a Bath

http://www.stevejenkinsbooks.com/books/bath.html

Bibliography:

Jenkins, S. & Page, R. (2011). TIME FOR A BATH. New York: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 9780547250373

Summary:

Whether it’s wallowing in the mud like a rhinoceros or allowing a pair of shrimp to groom you like a tomato grouper, creatures of all types have interesting and amazing ways that they take a bath.  

Critical Analysis:

Have you ever wanted to know how a pangolin or an emu takes a bath?  Steve Jenkins and Robin Page present an inviting concept book that explores the bathing habits of multiple creatures in Time for a Bath.  As a team, these two author, illustrators do a phenomenal job in offering readers of all ages a short, interesting, and factual  twist on the lives of animals.

Jenkins and Page use beautiful eye-catching collage illustrations of the creatures and their bathing habits.  These illustrations create a wondering of what unique way each animal uses to groom themselves.  A reader is easily able to learn the bathing habits each creature possesses by reading the clear and concise captions that accompany the wonderful illustrations.  Not only do they explain the habits of common animals like an elephant, rhinoceros, and deer, but also about other less common, yet still interesting, creatures.  Did you know that a gecko has no eyelids and has to lick them with its tongue to keep them clean?  Or, that a pangolin lifts its scales and lets ants eat the debris out from underneath the scales?  

In addition to the captivating illustrations and captions, Jenkins and Page offer their readers a chance to learn about less common creatures, such as, the jerboa, roseate spoonbill, and Japanese macaques.  Overall, a reader focuses their attention on bathing habits, but is informed of other factual information for each animal they read about, at the end of the book.  Thus, enhancing the amount of knowledge gained of common and not so common creatures.  Finally, the beauty of Time for a Bath is that it offers an entertaining and factual read for young and old alike.

Awards:

The Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Award 2011

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 for 2012

Chicago Public Library's 2012 Best of the Best

Review Excerpts:

"These will be an effective way to introduce animal habits and to link them to human behavior, and they may elicit audience interest in further discussion and exploration." —Bulletin

“In Time for a Bath, readers are informed that animals bathe for different reasons: to clean themselves, to cool off, to warm up, and to dissuade parasites. A "vulture takes a sunbath. The sun's warmth feels good, and the sunlight helps kill bacteria." The gecko, lacking eyelids, keeps its eyeballs dirt-free by licking them with "its long, flexible tongue." Readers will be captivated.” — School Library Journal

Connections:

-Read other works by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page:

Time to Eat

Time to Sleep

-Compare and contrast the habits of creatures on a chart

-Research additional bathing habits of animals not mentioned in Time for a Bath

-Chart the mentioned creatures on a map

-Write a story using one of the animals from Time for a Bath, making sure to include a bath time part in the story