Casey in the Bath

by Cynthia C. DeFelice, Chris L. Demarest (Illustrator)

Casey's bathtub becomes another world! Cynthia DeFelice's Casey in the Bath first appeared in Cricket magazine and is one of her most popular stories -- asked for again and again by children who know her as a professional storyteller. Now, for the first time, the story appears in picture book format with lively illustrations by Chris L. Demarest. Casey, a reluctant bather, finds himself with no soap except a bottle of green bath gel that his mother bought that morning from an odd salesman. Squirting out the gel, Casey discovers that it produces green bubbles that turn into green playmates. Casey has a blast with them! By the time he runs out of the gel, the salesman returns with purple toothpaste and the guarantee of even more fun in this lark about the joys of keeping clean -- and of using the imagination.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1996

About the author

Cynthia DeFelice is the author of many bestselling titles for young readers, including the novels Wild Life, The Ghost of Cutler Creek, Signal, and The Missing Manatee, as well as the picture books, One Potato, Two Potato, and Casey in the Bath. Her books have been nominated for an Edgar Allen Poe Award and listed as American Library Association Notable Children's Books and Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, among numerous other honors.

Cynthia was born in Philadelphia in 1951. As a child, she was always reading. Summer vacations began with a trip to the bookstore, where she and her sister and brothers were allowed to pick out books for their summer reading. “To me,” she says, “those trips to the bookstore were even better than the rare occasions when we were given a quarter and turned loose at the penny-candy store on the boardwalk.” Cynthia has worked as a bookseller, a barn painter, a storyteller, and a school librarian.

When asked what she loves best about being an author, she can’t pick just one answer: “I love the feeling of being caught up in the lives of the characters I am writing about. I enjoy the challenge of trying to write as honestly as I can, and I find enormous satisfaction in hearing from readers that something I wrote touched them, delighted them, made them shiver with fear or shake with laughter, or think about something new.” Cynthia and her husband live in Geneva, New York.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/cynthi...

Reviews

[Kid's Picture Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is one of my all time favorites. It is great for kids who don’t like baths or anyone who enjoys imaginative stories. This one has a kind of Dr. Seuss feel to it. The story begins with a funny looking salesman with an awesome mustache coming to the house to sell bath soap. He guarantees the mother that this soap will make bath-time fun for anyone. Since Casey hates taking baths, she buys a bottle. The next time Casey is in the bath he squirts a glob of the green goo into the tub. Green bubbles begin to form and as he pops one, a green creature appears. He continues to pop the bubbles and more and more creatures appear. They have all kinds of fun in the tub. By the time he runs out of the soap, the salesman returns with purple toothpaste and the guarantee of even more fun. Of course Casey yells out “we’ll take ten!”

[Ina · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Casey, a typical bath-hating boy, meets a rather unusual door-to-door salesman he doesn't believe the claim that an amazing bath soap (or any soap, for that matter) could "make taking a bath a thrilling experience." But he receives the surprise of his life when he opens the bottle of green goo in his bath that night - he discovers that bath time can truly be amazing and thrilling. The illustrations are bight and fresh, the story is imaginative and the text is great to read aloud, since Casey is at first deliciously whiney when told to take a bath, "Aw Dad, do I have to?" then there are characters that make fun sounds. All the kids were devastated when the night came when the bottle of green goo was empty, but hoped there was a sequel so that we can find out what was in the "purple toothpaste" that Casey's mom buys next.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my all-time favorite read aloud book for kids. Casey does not like to take a bath so when his mother buys some green bath soap from a traveling representative, this does not even get Casey excited. When Casey squirts the green goo into the tub, green bubbles appear and when he pops the green bubbles….out pop green creatures. Boys, girls, small and large one share the bath with Casey and he is one happy little guy. The illustrations are great with Casey and these green creatures sharing the tub playing different games and dancing the nights away until the bottle is empty. Ahhh! There is more fun to the story as Casey has adventures with the friends and Casey’s mother is astonished with his new behavior. What happens next when the representative comes to the door offering to sell Casey and his family something from his suitcase? I love this story and so will you.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like this book for a read-aloud about personal hygiene, specifically bathing and brushing teeth.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was disappointed that this was not a parody of Casey At The Bat as I had expected, just a predictable bath story.