Splish-Splash Stories: Delightful Bath Books for Kids
by Jennifer Ridgway
Bathtime: necessary evil or the best time of the day? Bathtime can be quite a struggle for some families — and even if your child usually can’t wait to splash around, you’re bound to experience weird hiccups of resistance on occasion. Fortunately, there are lots of great board books and picture books (including some waterproof ones!) that show just how fun bathtime can be. Here are some children’s books that help to make tubby time terrific.
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Bathtime Peekaboo!
This book combines a touch-and-feel experience with a lift-the-flap experience, making it highly interactive and engaging for babies and toddlers. The photos include babies with bath-related objects. The text is simple, and the books are durable enough for the littlest of hands.
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How Do Bunnies Take Baths?
Available from:Find out how various animals keep themselves clean with this adorable Little Golden Book. From bunnies to elephants, young readers will discover interesting facts about their favorite animals.
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Get Out of My Bath!
Available from:Babies and toddlers will love this interactive board book about a young elephant who gets some unwanted visitors in her bath. With a bit of quick thinking, she gets rid of the other animals and relaxes in the tub—alone.
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Swim with Little Fish!: Bath Book
Available from:Your child can take Little Fish into the bath with them! They can dive below the surface and explore an underwater world with the colorful fish in the story. This waterproof edition is perfect for bathtime, mealtime, or anytime it’s likely to get splashed with food or water.
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How Do You Take a Bath?
Available from:How do animals get clean? Little piggies wallow in mud, mama monkey combs through fur, and cats lick themselves from head to toe. Adorable yet educational, what makes this book a true bath time gem are the hilarious depictions of kids trying out those same grooming techniques for themselves.
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The Big Bath House
Available from:Culture, family, and body positivity combine into a beautiful picture book about traditional Japanese baths. A little girl travels to Japan, where all the women in the family go to an onsen (communal bath house) together. Gorgeous illustrations and lively text show readers that the human body is beautiful in every size, shape, age, and stage.
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Bathtime Mathtime
Available from:One, two, three bubbles. Add one more and now you’ve got four! Math wiz Danica McKellar introduces the early addition concept of counting on in this delightful board book all about bath time. Rhyming text and adorable illustrations make this book a tubful of fun.
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Walrus in the Bathtub
Available from:Kids who love to play in the bathtub for hours will adore this sweet and funny picture book about a family’s unexpected visitor. A walrus settles into the family’s bathtub and has no plans to leave, even when they make several subtle and not-so-subtle attempts to get rid of him.
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Scaredy Bath
Available from:Bathtime is the best—unless you’re a bathtub. From the author of No One Likes a Fart comes another hilarious picture book about a tub who fears bathtime more than anything else. Readers of all ages will giggle their way through this silly bathtime story.
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Around the World in a Bathtub
Available from:This great book shows children how different cultures around the world bathe, from the United States to Turkey to Japan. Bradford includes a bit of humor to make it entertaining, and he includes the words “yes” and “no” in various languages. A wonderful way to start exposing children to other traditions via a familiar subject.
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2017 and updated in 2022.