No More Water in the Tub!

September 4, 1995
Arnold follows No Jumping on the Bed! with another open-ended, goofy tale of unforeseen consequences featuring brothers Walter and William. As Walter helps William fill the bathtub, their mother cautions, ``Leave the faucet on another minute, then no more water in the tub!'' Walter cranks the handle too quickly and too far, breaking it, and soon there is water, water everywhere. The current sweeps the claw-footed tub out the door of the boys' apartment and down the stairs, into one apartment after another. As the flood rages, William sits comfortably in his ceramic canoe, while the startled neighbors cling to a variety of makeshift flotation devices: ``Out went Mabel on the table.... Uncle Nash sat in the trash... Little Dottie sailed the potty.'' A cumulative roster of these rafts plays up the fun. Arnold uses colored pencil and watercolors to render every blue splash and shadowy hallway in smooth detail. Each object-bathroom fixture, floating toy or piece of furniture-is a masterpiece of shading and shape. The only problem here is that the adults' faces are more expressive and effectively drawn than the children's. Even so, the illustrations alone could explain to beginning readers the story of this wild water ride. Ages 4-8.

October 1, 1995
PreS-Gr 1-Fans of No Jumping on the Bed! (Dial, 1987) will relish this similar cumulative adventure that demands to be read aloud. At bath time, William's older brother Walter (a reformed bed-jumper) is supposed to turn off the tap before the tub gets too full. The story that follows is his tale of what would happen if.... The tub overflows, and William, with his bathtub, goes rushing out the door on a flood of water. Past his parents, down the stairs, picking up neighbors in his wake: "Out went Mabel on the table. Sue and Vern clung to a fern. Uncle Nash sat in the trash. Patty Fuzzle steered her puzzle. Little Dottie sailed the potty." After the flood puts out a fire and the group lands in the street, William is dubbed a hero...and Walter's story is over. But, engrossed in the tale, Walter forgets the water, the tub overflows, and out goes William.... Arnold's soft pencil and watercolor illustrations are full of amusing details that will keep young readers coming back again and again. His stylized, cartoonlike figures look appropriately stunned by the unfolding events. This should be a popular choice for story hour.-Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library

December 15, 1995
Ages 4^-7. Because William likes his bathwater deep, his brother, Walter, turns the faucet on full blast. The sudden force of the gushing water pulls the tub away from the wall. William, now the captain of the tub-boat, goes sailing in the torrent of water. As he and his boat descend from floor to floor in his apartment building, numerous unsuspecting neighbors are swept along in the raging flood. The seeming disaster turns into a heroic event as the water extinguishes a fire that has started in a first floor apartment. Arnold's urban tale of an imaginary--or is it real?--voyage is clever in both plot and use of cumulative phrases. The whimsical illustrations executed in a palette of blues, greens, and subtle pastel shades complement the spirited, fun-filled adventure. The author-illustrator of "No Jumping on the Bed!" (1987) has written another witty tale that will captivate young listeners. ((Reviewed December 15, 1995))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1995, American Library Association.)