14th June International Bath Day

I haven't written about International Bath Day since 2017. This is a reminder that baths feature in so many children's books that it is a wonderful topic for a display.

Not only are baths excellent for relaxing and unwinding, places of mindful rejuvenation, but  they can also be the catalyst for great discoveries and decisions.

Throughout the ages there is a long history of momentous baths! One of the most ancient, and famous, of these is the origin of International Bath Day. Legend says that it was on this day (14 June) over 2200 years ago, that the Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor and astronomer, Archimedes enjoyed a contemplative bath. While he prepared the bath, he mulled over a problem that had been assigned to him by Hieron, the King of Syracuse. This bath resulted in Archimedes Principle. See short video or better still read Archimedes Bath  by Pamela Allen and get students to work it out for themselves. 

Other famous bath-takers include the English Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President William Howard Taft and Queen Victoria.   

When it comes to bath time with children, it can be one of two things

1. exciting, fun,  a great place of discovery and learning. With just a few simple bath toys or cups and containers, they will play with the water and naturally learn basic physics such as empty, full, floating,  sinking, and cause and effect.

This book looks at how the bath feels!

2. a nightmare because the recipient does not want to have a bath.

Many bath time books feature animals. Why? Is it an attempt to convince children that everyone bathes and it can be lots of fun! Harry the Dirty Dog, Paddington, The Pigeon Needs a Bath, Pig the Grub all need to be bathed! See this  Pinterest page for other suggestions.

Sometimes the bath is magical!

The Flying Bath  by Julia Donaldson and David Roberts

There's a Pharaoh in Our Bath! by Jeremy Strong

Time to get Out of the Bath, Shirley  by John Burningham

Sometimes the bath is in a bathroom, but sometimes it is outside or communal.

 Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz

The Big Bath House  by Kyo Maclear and Grace Zhang is a celebration of Japanese culture. A small girl goes with her aunties and grandmother to a traditional bath house.

In Unplugged by Gwenda Millard and Dee Huxley, Grandma Mabel is unable to use the inside bath because of bees, so instead bathes outside in Murray's bath under the plum tree. She loses her bathwater and clothes... 

With lots of bubble bath? It is Bubble Bath Day on 8th January!

How to Wash a Wooly Mammoth by Michelle Robinson and Kate Hindley

Giraffe in the Bath by Men Fox, Olivia Rawson and Kerry Argent

What are my favourites? As a mother and someone who loves reading in the bath: Five Minutes Peace by Jill Murphy. Reading this with young children always makes me smile. They are sure five minutes is a long time! They also love that the children all get in the bath too.

For older students, I've enjoyed reading Harry the Poisonous Centipede by Lynne Reid Banks. The thought of anything coming up the plughole always starts great discussion about whether it really is possible.

Time to start collecting all those bath books for a display!

14th June International Bath Day

It is International Bath Day. So many children's books feature bathing, either as the story, a good way to finish a story or 'for shock value' with very young children, so on this day for celebrating baths I have put together a fun display in the library. I know most of the books will leave the library.
Remember even Harry the Dirty Dog and Paddington Bear have baths!

Probably the most well known bath story would be Pamela Allen's Mr Archimede's Bath. This book is still in demand both with children and teachers who are using it for a science lesson. Time to Get Out of the Bath, Shirley  by John Burningham is perfect for a visual literacy lesson as it tells two conflicting stories through the pictures and words. My preschoolers love Emma Quay's Rudie Nudie 'because they have no clothes on!'. One of my Year 2 teachers serialises Harry the Poisonous Centipede by Lynne Reid Banks and the children giggle at the thought of a centipede coming up the drain in the bath. The picture books about bath monsters, sharks and giraffes in the bath and  have a similar effect on younger reader.

When my son was young he was mad on fishing and we had a Keith Faulkner book, A Fisherman's Tale about a boy who caught a fish that he kept in the bathtub because it kept growing until it was obviously a whale. I think it was his ultimate fantasy. Maybe There's a Dinosaur in the Bathtub will do that for a young reader today. Whale in the Bath by Kylie Westaway would be one of the most borrowed picture books this year so far. I'm sure the Premier's Reading Challenge sticker helps but given the number of books in the library with stickers it must have something else going for it. And if it is a while since you've read Glenda Millard's Unplugged!  dig it out and at least you'll feel warm.


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