Bathe the Cat

by Alice B. McGinty, David Roberts (Illustrator)

Bathe the floor? Sweep the dishes? This riotous romp of a picture book follows a frantic family as they try to get some chores done—with no help from the family cat, who keeps scrambling the list of chores with hilarious effects. Get ready for a rollicking read-aloud with a truly purrfect ending.

It's cleaning day, but the family cat will do anything to avoid getting a bath. So instead of mopping the floor or feeding the fish, the family is soon busy rocking the rug, vacuuming the lawn, and sweeping the dishes. Bouncy rhyme carries the story headlong into the growing hilarity, until finally Dad restores some kind of order—but will the cat avoid getting his whiskers wet?

HILARIOUS READ-ALOUD: Word scrambles are a delight in this silly rhyming picture book! Kids will love the accessible rhyming text, and emerging readers will be able to anticipate words after repeated reads, making for an engaging and interactive read-aloud experience.

CATNIP FOR CAT LOVERS: This sweet and sneaky feline will do anything to get out of having a bath! Ample cat antics and scenes of increasing mischief (and increasing chaos!) will tickle young readers and entice parents—particularly those with a furry feline member of their own households.

TWO DADS LEAD THE WAY: Dad and Papa are the heads of this large and loving biracial family, mirroring illustrator David Robert's own orientation and providing picture book readers with a positive depiction of LGBTQ+ characters in a fun and funny family story.

WINNING AUTHOR-ILLUSTRATOR TEAM: Alice McGinty is a prolific author of books for children, and David Roberts is well-known for his work on the popular Questioneers series. Together, their upbeat text and energetic art with pops of neon color make for a standout picture book, just right for gifting and enjoying together at storytime.

Perfect for:

• Parents
• Gift-givers
• Cat lovers

Genres: Picture Books, LGBT, Humor, Family, Cats, Childrens, Storytime

48 pages, Hardcover

First published February 8, 2022

About the author

Alice Blumenthal McGinty is an American writer of children's books.
McGinty was born in 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She attended Indiana University and the University of Illinois. McGinty is Jewish. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a perfect picture book that is endlessly fun. Bathe the Cat from Alice B. McGinty and illustrated by David Roberts (you may recognize from the series that includes Rosie Revere, Engineer) is an adorable story about a family frantically trying to clean the house before Grandma arrives that is simple, sweet, and reads with a fun and naturally sing-songy cadence that only gets sillier as it goes and the chore list begins to fall apart.

When dad makes a to-do list which includes bathing the cat, this reluctant feline decides to take matters into their own hand to avoid a bath. But with each rearrangement of the chore list things get zanier and the cat continuously adjusts the list to avoid now being assigned to be vacuumed or mowed.

Its rather charming and goofy, with the family assigned tasks like feed the floor, rock the mat, scrub the fishes, etc. I also love that, despite not ever calling attention to it, the story features a queer couple so it also offers really good representation and depictions of a loving family in a book that works well for a young age group. It is a quick read that is just as enjoyable for adults as the children being read to and is guaranteed to get a lot of laughs. I love this book and the art is also really cute!


This was such a big hit in my house, so much so that my four year old insisted on being the specific cat from this book as her Halloween costume:

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible picture book! A queer family with two dads and three kids prepares for a visit from Grandma by cleaning the house. But their mischievous orange cat keeps switching the letters around on the fridge to-do list, resulting in tasks like mop the baby, scrub the fishes, and vaccum the cat. It's very funny. I love how even the little details of this book are QTPOC focused. And the illustrations are gorgeous. My kid already loves it and she doesn't even understand how funny the silly jobs are.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this as one of those coincidental discoveries and I can never resist a funny cat story.

The familly is about to be visited by grandma and it's all hands on deck. So there is a plan spelled out in magnets on teh fridge. One of those instructions says "bathe the cat", and we can't have THAT. So the cat decides to take matters into its own ... paws. With predictably hilarious results.

Not too deep a story, but very fun and the illustrations are just adorable:

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this comedy of the absurd, chaos reigns when you write your to-do list with refrigerator magnets and have a very smart and sneaky cat! When the last item on the list is to "bathe the cat," cat takes matters into their own paws and the household starts working on some silly tasks, like vacuuming the lawn, feeding the floor, and scrubbing the fishes. The use of rhyming words adds to the fun, and kids will adore how matter-of-factly the whole family sets to work on these ridiculous chores. Cheers to the two mustachioed dads and multicultural kids, one of whom wears a dinosaur costume throughout. The color palette with prominent hot pinks, neon oranges, and lemon yellows works so well and just makes me want to tack pages up on my fridge to enjoy all the time. (But I promise I won't.)

[Jungian.Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to #Pridebooktours for making this book available to me as part of the book tour.

This was so freaking cute. A diverse range of characters. Really loved the normalization of blended families! The colours were absolutely beautiful, the book itself is so well-made. The story is cute with the family cat continually changing the task of the day to avoid a bathe!

A good way to teach children about family, tasks, and learn new words.

[Milton Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grandma is coming and the family sets forth to clean up their house but their cat has other plans than to be bathed. The cat scrambles what should be done on the list and ends up making clean up a lot more interesting. This chaotic story is a fun read-aloud for kids of all ages that uses rhyming to describe all the family is doing to get ready for a visit from grandma. The illustrations are fun and vibrant. The mixed race family with two dads is refreshing to see. I definitely recommend this book!

Find it in our SHARE Catalog today!

Ashley C. / Milton Public Library #CheckOutMPL

[Marathon County Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This new picture book captured my attention by the bright cover and title that made clear it'd be an entertaining read (because every cat owner knows most of them definitely do not want to be bathed!) Inside, we meet a family who's just realized Grandma is on her way, and the house is a mess. Chaos ensues as chores are dished out, and when the cat sees a bath for them is on the list, the list must be changed! What follows is a fun rhyming adventure while the family tries to get the house ready for their visitor. Will the cat avoid the bath? You'll have to read to find out!

This new picture has it all: humor, rhyming, bright colors, and representation of a beautiful family with two dads. I loved it!
Sarah M. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a hoot! Wordplay, a mischievous cat, and an LGBTQ+ inclusive family makes this one a can't-miss!

[Kandice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be gifting this book at many baby showers.

[BECK ★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Proof that cats have a grasp on language and use it for extreme naughtiness.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully wacky book that perfectly captures kids' amusement with silly wordplay. Its text has the feel of a classic, but the illustrations depict a more modern and diverse family. I really enjoy the artist's cool, super-detailed, retro illustration style.

[Tawnda Andrews · Rating 1 out of 5]

Warning to parents: Story contains two Dad’s.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so fun and inclusive

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gay and silly, evil cat genius

[Eric Rosswood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable picture book featuring a family with two dads. It's hilarious and our kids laughed out loud numerous times.

[Mauri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meets all of my criteria:
1. Easy to read aloud.
2. Genuinely funny.
3. Nothing traumatic that the baby will have to discuss in therapy thirty years from now.
4. Cute art that’s cartoony without being super deformed.

Bonus: a queer POC family in a story that focuses neither on their queerness nor their races.

The baby is already trying to help on the pages where the cat scrambles the letters, lol.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Grandma Marge is coming to visit, the family needs to get the house spick and span for her. Everyone must help in mowing the lawn, scrubbing the dishes, feeding the fishes, mopping the floor, and especially, bathe the cat! Of course the cat has other ideas than taking a bath! The family becomes confused and anxious as their list of chores becomes more outrageous and nothing is getting done. The house is messier than it was before and Grandma is on her way soon! A humorous book that takes on word play under a rhyming tone that only a cat can get away with!

[Isobel Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

bless this deliciously beautiful book

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny. Colorful. 2 dads. Diverse kids. Nice play on words that will have kids saying "Again!" when you reach the last page.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

First sentence: Come on folks, it's time to clean! Upstairs, downstairs, in-between. It's such a mess! If Grandma sees...she comes at two, so HURRY please!

Premise/plot: Two dads and three kids race against the clock as the cat sabotages the list of chores (magnetic letters on the refrigerator) all in the cat's attempt to avoid getting a bath. As the letters get scrambled (by the cat) and the chores become nonsensical, mischief occurs--or nearly so. The cat isn't really in danger of getting mowed. (But the floor does get fed.) This scramble occurs several times throughout the book as it gets closer and closer to two o'clock. Will the cat be successful in his attempts???

My thoughts: I thought the chore scrambling was mostly amusing. I didn't love, love, love this one. Nor did I hate it. (I'd never go that far.) It just didn't quite meet my expectations. Reading in general is subjective. Reading picture books is especially so. Not every reader is going to *love* a book. A book can not be a good fit for you and be a great fit for another reader.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/25/2022 ~ Absolutely hilarious; take a look at the cat's expressions as it changes the refrigerator letters around. Also, I love the dads in the book, grandma's shape (we still don't see enough large people in children's books), and the range of skin tones in the family. This is a fabulously representative book. I can't wait to read this aloud to my students!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silly story and the most stylish illustrations (always, from David Roberts) for the win!

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family is expecting company so everyone will have their assigned chores. All of these chores are put onto the fridge with magnetic letters. This even includes bathing the cat.
One of the dads suddenly becomes very confused when the words are scrambled and the clock is running out to get everything ready in time.
Can the cat outwit their owners and avoid a bath? Find out!

Full of word play, a dynamic, as well as colorfully illustrated (and dressed) family, make this a fun read aloud!

[Jolynne Dougherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grandma is coming for a visit and we have to get the house redd up. The list of chores is on the fridge written in magnetic letters, but the cat keeps changing things up. Will that cat ever get a bath? This would be a fun read with young readers who can appreciate the spelling changes, but would also be fun with non readers.

[Cudahy Family Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious story of a family getting ready for a visit from grandma. Dad is trying his hardest to get everything in order, but when the family cat hears that bathing him is on the agenda, he is determined to switch things up- in the most literal fashion. Great for read-aloud.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story about a family frantically trying to clean before Grandma arrives, and their mischievous cat who keeps shuffling around the alphabet magnets composing their to-do list to avoid getting a bath. Very silly stuff.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very very cute, inclusive, clever and full of love.

[Lisa Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful. I can see this as a fun gift and an excellent storytime book for goofy mixups, parents, cats, alphabet, chores... a lot

[Chance Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rhyme annoyed me, but this book made me laugh and David Roberts's artwork always glows.

[Sarah BT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super funny, great illustrations and great vocabulary and word play!