Rub-a-Dub Sub

by Linda Ashman, Jeff Mack (Illustrator)

What underwater wonders can you see when you're in a bright orange submarine? Stealthy manta rays, silky seals, blimpy blowfish--and all sorts of other amazing ocean animals. So pull on your favorite swimsuit and dive into this rhyming young fantasy. Just watch out for the shark!

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Animals, Adventure, Juvenile

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Linda Ashman is the author of more than 40 picture books and The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books . Her books have been included on the "best of the year" lists of the New York Times, IRA/CBC Children's Choices, the New York Public Library and others, and have been translated into many languages. Linda lives with her family in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5* art
5* rhyme/story

Oh Squirt loves this - and the fact that it turns out to all be happening in a bathtub is what seems to impress him the most.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute book that introduces a lot of ocean animals. I read it aloud to a group of two year olds and their caregivers. The difficulty I had is that there is a lot on many pages that needs explanation or discussion (for example, it is very difficult to recognize the octopus because only an arm is shown) but slowing down means that you lose the rhythm of the book. After seeing the shark (sorry, spoiler there), I read very quickly, because our protagonist is fleeing to the top to get away from the shark, but that makes the animals go by even more quickly.

I liked the illustrations, the topic, and the ending, but I felt like the whole thing did not fit together well as a read aloud.

[Laura Bradham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute book that uses rhyme to introduce children to a world of under water life. It's very cute, but you need to know what some of the marine animals are before reading the book, which presumably, the child being read this book would since there would be an element of getting a book about a subject your child is interested in. A reminder to use your imagination, cute illustrations and a nice warm ending make the book thoroughly enjoyable.

[Susan]

Love the lyric rhyme of this book, and my kids enjoyed predicting the second word in the rhyme.
BUT, I think our version of the book is missing a word. Halfway through the book the pages read "Zipping past a lobster claw, miss a marlin's"
And that's it! Later in the book it pairs the word claw with jaw.
Does anyone else's book have something different? Am I missing something?

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice rhyming story. At first I thought it was another of those listing books, just one sea animal after another, but it came to an exciting midpoint and the race to the finish was satisfying. The art is cute but some of the more unusual animals were tough to decipher.

[Erin Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would make a great read aloud for young children. My son would have over this when he was younger!

[Jami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations. It shows the imaginary world that children escape to so often. My daughter who is obsessed with marine life loved this one and so did I.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple text as a boy imagines life underwater while playing in the tub.

[Peggy Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story in verse about things you might see in the ocean with a surprise ending. Wonderful, close-up, colorful illustrations add to the fun.

[Mari]

The ending wink that he turns out to be in a bath tub probably makes the read worth it. Otherwise I wouldn't.

[Christine Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the ending! The illustrations are cute too

[Meghan Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for either a "Bathtub" or "Under the Sea" storytime.

A little boy goes exploring beneath the sea in his submarine. He describes all of the interesting creatures he sees until he comes upon a shark. Then he quickly says goodbye to all of the creatures as he hurries back to the top of the water. In the end, the reader discovers that the boy is merely taking a bath.

Excerpt: " Sinking in my submarine, my sub glub glub marine. Diving with a silky seal. Darting by a dancing eel."

The book has nice a nice rhythm to it with smart rhymes. It's a clever and cute story.

[Whit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the illustrations in this book and the plot is charming, though strikingly familiar to (read: the same as) that of _Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea_. This is actually a plus if you read them both to kids because it allows them the opportunity to do a compare/contrast of their own.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My boys and I both really liked this underwater adventure! It was great to see all the various animals mentioned that the boy in the sub saw while he was traveling around in the sea. The pictures were fabulous!

[Maggie KutsBorg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic vocabulary builder - there are 30 toddlers in Morton Grove who now know what a wrasse is! This is also a bouncy rhyme with a lot of action moments and cute pictures, plus I love the ending, and asking everyone if they like to play pretend when they're in the bathtub.

[Bari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story suitable for a school or library story time. I used this for a story time for children ages 18 months to age 3. This book was chosen due to it's rhyming text and bright pictures.

[Cymiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for TeleTale. Short, rhyming and narrative carries without the pictures.

[SARAH · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far at the "creatures in the ocean" children's books go...this is a good one. I liked the illustration and the rhyming.

[Kristeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The girls love this rhyming tale of a trip to the depths of the ocean. Needless to say we have acquired a few new bath toys as a result. Nicely illustrated.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute kids book. Really fun illustrations. Lots of rhyming. My son liked it.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the use of alliteration and rhyme. Nice opportunity to introduce children to sea animals they haven't heard of like the wrasse and the dab. Also has plenty of animals they are familiar with.

[JaNeal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darling book. Very few words, nice form, cute illustrations, and a great ending. The simple rhyme scheme makes this a good readiness book for reading.

[Erin Banet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read aloud! I love the alliteration and rhyme!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bath tub picture book. Nice illustrations with several sea animals that are new to the usual undersea bath time adventure.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one just made me smile! A cute story, fun vibrant pictures...just a good time!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A boy uses his imagination to explore his bathtub as if he in an ocean!

Great to use for predicting, you don't know he is in a bathtub until the last page.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Rhymy and cute about a boy in a submarine saying hello and goodbye to all the animals he meets along the way. Nice pictures and simple text. I loved the trick ending!

[Robin Raines-Bond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun rhyming text and great pics. I think your kids will get a few giggles out of this cute book.

[LeeAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorites for Ocean-themed story time. Wish it were still in print.