Clean Enough

by Kevin Henkes

A little boy finds more to enjoy in the bath than just washing himself.

Genres: Picture Books

24 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1982

About the author

Kevin Henkes is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. As an illustrator he won the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon (2004). Two of his books were Newbery Medal Honor Books, Olive's Ocean in 2004 and The Year of Billy Miller in 2014. His picture book Waiting was named both a 2016 Caldecott Honor Book and a Geisel Honor Book. It was only the second time any author has won that combination of awards.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly sweet, quiet book about a little boy taking his bath. I would imagine a child would think and say just these things! I loved that his cat shared the event with him, from outside the tub of course. Old-fashioned feel which this old-fashioned reader enjoyed!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written, and drawn, while Henkes was still an undergrad. Wow. Lovely, charming, probably appealing to kids who don't need excitement but can appreciate subtlety, quiet.

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple and relatable experience for kids and taking a bath. Playful and realistic drawings by Kevin Henkes. 3yo found it relatable and intriguing.

[Muhuawu wu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book especially Kevin’s illustration. The illustrations of this book are so imperative and reinforcing to text and mood of story, the author may often add a different detail than text alone. Moreover, they are very detailed and drawn out with pencil sketches. They are simple yet graceful. There is not a lot of color added to the pages. The entire picture is black and white except for the little boy's skin color and his favorite blue towel. This adds to the quietness and the simplicity of the storyline. There is not a lot of excitement throughout the story but you can watch all the silly things he does while in the tub. The book is simple yet has a cute storyline. I think Kids will want you to read more each night In addition, the story are with quality writing and a coherent structure which is screaming to be read aloud. Highly recommend. Besides, the language of this book is lively, concise and not overly didactic. On repeated readings, <> offers fresh revelations and details that may not have been caught the first time through/timeless.

[Madison Hays · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clean Enough, written by Kevin Henkes, is a charming story about a young boy who adores the bathtub. However, things that used to be fun and exciting to him, aren't anymore. He tries to make waves and play with the soap like he used to but it just doesn't feel the same.

The illustrations in this story are very detailed and drawn out with pencil sketches. They are simple yet graceful. There is not a lot of color added to the pages. The entire picture is black and white except for the little boy's skin color and his favorite blue towel. This adds to the quietness and the simplicity of the storyline. There is not a lot of excitement throughout the story but you can watch all the silly things he does while in the tub. The book is simple yet has a cute storyline.
I recommend this story for early readers because the illustrations are not very bright and colorful and it has a much deeper meaning than normal children's books.

[Emily Sirota]

This is a story written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes and is a story about a boy who loves to sit and play in the bath tub and soon realizes it is time to leave the tub. He soon realizes that the bath tub is not the same as it used to be when he was younger. He realizes he has now grown older and things are changing.

This book has some of Henkes famous remarks such as his dark pencil shadings and light water colors. Unlike most of his other books this book has very few colors and the colors that are used are pastels. These very slight colors keep your focus on the text and the story line of the book. I would recommend this story for any of the younger ages hence the fact that it takes place in a bath tub and the younger children might be able to relate to this more. I also feel as if some of the older children can relate to this since they might be tired of the bath and they can enjoy bath time as much as they once could.

[Ina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a charming book with sweet illustrations all about a young boy and the bath.The text is simple and voices all of the fears, joys and frustrations of taking a bath. Our young hero leaves the door open...just a little whenever he takes a bath and has to struggle to get the water just right. He spends his time in the bath daydreaming, playing and remembering how things were when he was really little. There is also a cat that moves in and out of the pictures - the kids at storytime loved finding the cat - and sharing some of their own bath tub memories. The book is small and the pictures very detailed, so this book would be difficult to read to a large group, but this book was very appealing to my young audience, probably because as the book jacket states the author-artist "catches a mood and an experience that are universal and makes them unforgettable." So true!

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a wonderful, hard-to-pin-down appeal to it. The action is limited but the words are simple and direct. Kevin Henkes has made a very special career out of twining these two elements together to levels of near perfection.
In Clean Enough, Kevin Henkes has produced drawings that are seemingly so simple yet truly lovely, and this gracefulness carries over without interruption into the text. I might not quite be able to point out why, but this book is very good. I would give it at least one and a half stars.

[Kyjafree · Rating 5 out of 5]

the book Clean Enough is about aye little boy who talks and play and forgets to wash up. his father let him put ice and his bathtube because the water was to hot. he lays in the tub and move around to make waves until he sank.he shaved his arms and legs and pretended the soap was cake and froasted it. he didn't even wash up put he been in the tub for so long he got out because his little brother needed to get in

[Daer Hewett · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a ok book it was about a little boy who got in the tub and sat there and played for a very long time and when his mom called him to get out the tub he didnt even start washing up yet but he thought he waas clean enough so he got out the bath tub anyway.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy is totes distracted while he takes his bath. We get a peen shot and a chance to imagine how exasperated his parents must be. Extra star because I'm sure kids lurve it.

[Alexis Salazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book has very unappropriated images, but other than that its really relate able. this book is very little. cute book