Splash!

by Flora McDonnell

"Striking artwork and superb pacing of the text make this a must-have for story-time collections."- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (starred review)

Hot, hot, hot! Everyone is hot - the elephant, the tiger, and the rhinoceros. But the baby elephant knows just what to lead all the big animals down to the water, where they can drink and squirt and splosh and splash! With brilliant paintings that saturate the pages, Flora McDonnell refreshes the very concept of young picture books.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Africa, Summer, Juvenile

26 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* art
4* story with sound effects

Sploosh! Splash! Swoosh! and, you guessed it, Squirt!

As today was Squirt's first swimming lesson, he could relate. He grinned maniacally throughout.
(Library is next to the pool - how's that for serendipity?!)

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite part about this book is the illustration of the really happy looking tiger after he cools down in the water :)

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for a great read for story time then this is the perfect book. The book is geared for very young children but still contains a great story and wonderful illustrations. The book has the literary elements of realistic fiction and presents the setting very well. The reader can automatically place themselves in the savanna with the elephants and with the descriptive words can almost feel the hotness of the sun. The story goes on to present the character of a baby elephant and the mother elephant. They are both hot, and then the reader is presented with two other characters, the rhinoceros and the tiger. All of the animals are hot and they decide to follow the baby elephant to water. The baby elephant splashes all of the animals. This in itself can be a great moment to have a discussion about the possibilities of what could happen because of baby elephant's actions.
The illustrations in this picture book are phenomenal. They are very detailed and seem to be as if they were watercolors. The expressiveness of the animals gives the illustrations almost a realist perspective because of the faces of the animals. The tiger and rhino are both portrayed as normal looking animals but there are certain techniques in the illustration that allow the reader to understand that all of the animals are at harmony with each other. They are all united for one reason and that is to cool off and go 'Splash'!

[Alicia Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for the jungle storytime this week. The jungle animals are all hot and need to go cool off. I thought the premise was simple and good for young readers. However, this may be too easy for a preschool group/reader without added play, but it was straightforward and clear.

For: readers looking for a silly book with the option for play.

Possible red flags: some readers may feel the book is too simple.

[Dana Franklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book demonstrates how to count animals in the pond and what the animals are and how to count and what sound they make.

[RLL22017 Flora Zayas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for 3 - 5 year olds. Various animals. Natural habitat, splashing (sharing) water.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today's favorite book in storytime for toddlers!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple text with amazing illustrations

[Simac · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very nice.I liked how the baby elephant put water on everybody, it was funny.

[Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very pretty illustrations, and good practice for animal names.

[Michelle Halber]

Simple words, large, engaging pictures

[Roseanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

having a one year old pointing a squealing about all the animals makes it the best book

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the French/English version of this picture book, called "Eclabousse! Splash!". The story follows hot jungle animals in search of some water to cool off, and tells of their antics in the water.
The pictures in this book are beautiful and kept my attention on each page for a long time. The words are well spaced out, and the bilingual version teaches grammar by using repetitive sentence structures and vocabulary.
I would recommend this book for primary students learning either French or English; it would be a wonderful resource to use at home with parents who don't speak the language the child is learning.

[Ashley Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this story, the jungle animals are all hot so they all follow a baby elephant down to a water hole. The baby elephant sprays everyone with water and starts a splash fight which cools everybody off. The art in this book was fantastic. An infant would love this book because of the incredible pictures of the animals. It would also be fun for a caregiver to read to an infant because they can have fun with the exclamations of each “splash!”

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful paintings illustrate this book about hot momma and baby elephants, tiger, and rhinoceros all taking refreshing drink of water and the baby elephant's exuberant splashing and squirting of its fellows. Everyone ends up happy and satisfied after their cooling drink and splash. The looks of pleasure on the animals' faces are humorous and sweet. Few words per page in large font and brightly colored illustrations make this a good read aloud for young kids.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The African animals are hot and a baby elephant knows just how they can cool off fast! All the animals head to the waterhole and splash around a bit.

Great read aloud for toddlers with great action-filled text that will have them repeating the words right back to you.

Gouache, acrylic, and watercolor illustrations are vibrant and expressive. I especially loved the smiles on the tigers faces after they took a dip.

[Jessica Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for practicing problem-solving skills. Children can relate to the story as well and will love the animal characters. The types of animals used offer a way to discuss the setting because they live in a jungle/safari area. Children can talk about what other animals live in the jungle/safari and compare/contrast them to other animals and their habitats.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bunch of hot African animals head down to the water to drink and to splash. With a brief text that a newer reader can quickly learn to read on her own, onomatopoeic moments, and detailed illustrations of animals being playful, Splash! is a winner for both a toddler and an older sibling, five tp seven, who can read books that aren't too long or complicated.

[Edna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book for babies and toddlers because the illustrations are big and bold and displaying beautiful brush strokes with the natural colors of African animals who are hot, hot, hot and little baby elephant comes up with the best idea for getting cool, cool, cool.

[Josie B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for 1-2 year olds. In addition to putting a basket of board books out for one on one reading, I like to read one book out loud to parents and children in my one year old stortimes. Large, realistic pictures of animals and very simple text make this accessible to one year olds.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

jungle animals are hot...until a baby elephant starts the splashing. cute for younger read a loud. 2s.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple text, bright colors and a very clever baby elephant make this a fun book for toddlers/preschoolers and beginning readers. A large picture book to be enjoyed with mommy or daddy.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for summer.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Babies, toddlers, phonological awareness, repetition, baby animals.

[Layna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It is simple for younger children and filled with lots of bright colors & cute animals. Great for a hot day!

[Rima Halig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute book! I love how different animals were introduced in this book. Would be a great book to read and allow the students to act out the different animals.

[Thia]

water, mommys, hot days

[Emerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned how to say SPLASH from this book! I like the illustrations, especially the tiger. I made my mom & dad read it about 8 times this weekend, after we got it at the library on Saturday morning.

[Mckinley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't work for me.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the jungle animals are hot, a baby elephant has a good solution involving the squirting and splashing of water at the water hole.