King Bidgood's in the Bathtub

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.

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 two and a half year old absolutely loves this book! He really loves these two authors and almost anything they write. He tends to love. This book has incredible drawings. They are super impressive and really fun to look at even as an adult

Funny story, gorgeous illustration, and fun to read out loud.

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

Fabulous gift. Cute story and incredible illustrations.

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 amazing in this fun book. We read it to our children and now it’s time for the grandchildren to enjoy this treasure.

Ótimo livro para crianças. História engraçada

Our daughter loved it so much. It is a really beautifully drawn book. Reading it out loud is so much fun.

No matter what..the King wont come out of the bathtub. Knight and Queen and Duke and Court all give a shot but in vain. But then Page has an idea to make King come out of bathtub.A silly story which will make children laugh.Illustrations by Don Wood are amazing.This review is for hardback edition by Child's Play Ltd (ISBN : 9780859533409)

Beautiful illustrations and so many details. We notice something new each time we read the story. My child likes reading it and so do I!