TIME FOR A BATH

Gershator and Walker’s bunnies from Time for a Hug (co-authored by Mim Green, 2013) return to explore the seasons and reasons for bathtime.

With the same tender affection between the two rabbits found in the first book, the parent-and-child pair makes its way through the seasons, with lots of opportunities for mess. “Dig a hole, / plant a pit, / water and weed— / What time is it? // Time for a bath!” The seasons fly by, illustrations showing the little bunny playing in a spring garden, having ice cream on a summer beach, making a mud pie at a fall playground and painting on a winter day. The rhyming story finishes each vignette with the refrain, “What time is it?” Children will quickly chime in: “Time for a bath!” In this household, bathtime is a good time to make things fresh and new again. The gray parent bunny is watchful and loving, receiving the reward of a towel-wrapped, worn-out little one, peacefully drifting off to sleep. Walker’s soft tones and engaging full-page spreads spill over with gentleness. Although the cadence is occasionally bumpy, and seasons may be conceptually more difficult to understand than time, the familiar pattern and loving characters still charm.

Will the book convince a child that bathtime is a happy time? It won’t take many reads to get them to want to try and find out.