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Scrubba Dub

Name: Scrubba Dub
Author: Nancy Van Laan
ISBN: 9781416978596

by Nancy Van Laan, Bernadette Pons

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Overview

Scrubba dub dubba

squigga giggle squash.

Splash splish

splish splosh

time to wash.

What little bunny can resist bathtime, especially with a tub full of bubbles...and boats...and rubber ducks...and more bubbles? In this delightful read-aloud treat, getting clean has never been easier, or more fun!

Mama Bunny tries to bathe her energetic toddler.

Synopsis

Scrubba dub dubba

squigga giggle squash.

Splash splish

splish splosh

time to wash.

Publishers Weekly

This tale does for bathtime what these collaborators' previous Tickle Tum! did for mealtime. The bunny baby has grown rather messy-or, as Van Laan so eloquently phrases it, "Ewww yuck/ sticka stuck!" The situation calls for a good "scrubba dub dubba." The author once again shows her fluency in the patois of the nursery: "Washy nosie/ washy toesies/ washy anything/ that growsies." Pons's generously scaled pictures stay in step with her collaborator's giddy, bubbly fun. With gentle humor, the artist, working in watercolors and pastels of mauve, aqua and apricot, underscores the bond between mother and child. Author and illustrator understand that no bathtime is complete without a dramatic and total underwater submergence, the elaborate pouring of water into a too-small receptacle and the sculpting of a fetching "bubblesome doo" (a shampoo-shaped coiffure). "Pull out the drain plug,/ round the toys twirl" signals the end of the entertainment, and the bathroom is left a soapy, soppy mess. But who cares? Well, from her distressed look, it's clear Mama Bunny does-but she gives her happy toddler a snug towel hug nonetheless. Ages 3-6. (Mar.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

About the Author, Nancy Van Laan

Nancy Van Laan has written many books perfect for reading aloud, including So Say the Little Monkeys; Little Fish, Lost; With a Whoop and a Holler, an American Library Association Notable Book; and the 1990 Parents' Choice Award winner, Possum Come a-Knockin'. She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Bernadette Pons lives in Paris with her husband and three daughters. She also illustrated Scrubba Dub, Nancy Van Laan's companion volume to Tickle Tum!

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

School Library Journal

PreS-K-"Ewww yuck/sticka stuck!" So begins this sequel to Tickle Tum! (Atheneum, 2001). This time, mama bunny is giving little bunny a bath, or trying to. Toddlers will enjoy chanting along to rhymes like, "Skootch down/scrunch your eyes/rinsa-rinse away./Tippitta dippitta tugboat toots./Yahoo! Time to play." Pons's bubbly pictures done in watercolor and soft pastels perfectly portray the young rabbit's tubtime antics. A few of the verses may not roll easily off readers' tongues at first, but repeat readings will make this a bedtime favorite. All in all, libraries should not be surprised if this book comes back with a few damp pages.-Bina Williams, Bridgeport Public Library, CT Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Van Laan is known and respected for her abilities with story rhymes. In Scrubba Dub's pre-cursor, Tickle Tum (2001), also illustrated by Pons, the verse moves the story forward and delivers fresh ideas to make supper time more palatable. This bath-time account, however, is rather soggy. The text stumbles from rhymes into halting, herky-jerky tongue stoppers. It begins well enough as a toddler bunny is undressed and prepared for cleansing, "Ewww yuck / sticka stuck! Off goes romper suit / tug tug pull. / Off go sneaker sneaks / tubba tub's full." But the reader is soon fumbling for verbal equilibrium and struggling with quasi-words as in "Tippitta dippitta tugboat toots." The illustrations, in powdery purples and blues, depict tub scenes familiar (and ordinary) to youngsters, e.g. toys, bubbles, soap, water. Clearly happy and harmonious, mommy and babies faces are beaming with love. Pons's softly lit paintings use watercolors and chalk to appealing effect and her artwork saves this story, but Scrubba Dub as a whole doesn't offer up anything new or interesting to the saturated bath theme market. (Picture book. 2-4)