Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs [Hardcover]

Alan Katz (Author), David Catrow (Author)

Book Description

Remember...

"Take Me Out to the

Ballgame"

and

"I've Been Working on the

Railroad"?

Well, forget 'em!

Songwriter and comedy writer extraordinaire Alan Katz has turned those and other old favorites on their ears and created new nonsense songs kids will love. With zany, spirited pictures by illustrator and cartoonist David Catrow, this kooky collection guarantees laughs and plenty of silly dillyness for kids everywhere!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Songwriter and television comedy writer Katz provides ludicrous lyrics to 14 traditional tunes, offering playful parodies on some familiar routines. To the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," a boy wearing roller skates claims he has been soaking so long in the tub that he "used one, two, three bars of soap/ Take me out... I'm clean!" Other amusing entries include "I've Been Cleaning Up My Bedroom" (sung to "I've Been Working on the Railroad"), in which a girl tidies her room by shoving all of her belongings "out the door," which Catrow (She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head!) interprets quite literally (he shows her bureau, goldfish, etc., piling up in the back yard), and "Give Me a Break" (sung to the tune of "Home on the Range"), introducing a child whose library book is long overdue. A few songs do not scan so well (e.g., this verse set to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean": "My brother flicks peas with his fork and/ They zip down my shirt with a splat/ Next I see a big piece of pork land/ On my head like it's a new hat!"). But the subjects (a sibling with a stinky diaper, a youngster who refuses to go to bed, a cranky poodle think "Yankee Doodle") teamed with Catrow's outlandish illustrations, as hyperbolic as the words, will have kids giggling as they sing. Ages 2-6.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-This hilarious collection goes straight to the heart of playground humor. What made "On Top of Spaghetti" such an integral part of popular culture is what makes these selections so equally successful. Well-known songs like "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean," and "I've Been Working on the Railroad" become-with a wink, a poke, and nod-"Take Me Out of the Bathtub," "The Yogurt Flies Straight from My Brother," and "I've Been Cleaning Up My Bedroom." Some of these transformations are so clever that kids will want to burst into song immediately. Imagine your next patron singing, "Oh give me a break/`Cause I made a mistake/And my library book's overdue" to the tune of "Home on the Range." The watercolor illustrations are equally entertaining, with exaggerated features and situations giving them a cartoon look. "Go Go Go to Bed" depicts an exhausted mom slumped in a chair with toys and a child literally bouncing off the ceiling above her. There's something here to tickle most funny bones.-Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books; 1st edition (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689829035
• ISBN-13: 978-0689829031
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alan Katz has written many books for children and adults, including the award-winning songbooks Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs and I'm Still Here in the Bathtub, Where Did They Hide My Presents?, Are You Quite Polite?, Elfis, and Stinky Thinking. He has also written family humor and puzzles for publications including Rosie Magazine, The New York Times and the New York Daily News. He will have a whole bunch of new titles released in 2007, including Don't Say That Word!, Hairy Henry, and the trivia series That's Right, That's Wrong!

Alan is also a writer-producer with extensive television credits. He was recently a producer on The Tony Danza Show, and created and executive produced a reality show pilot ('Til Monday Do Us Part) for Oxygen Network He also co-executive produced Apparently Speaking and wrote Oh Baby, You're on TV! for Oh!Baby, Oxygen's video-on-demand network. In 2006, Alan created and wrote a series of Dove webisodes starring Felicity Huffman and directed by Penny Marshall.

Alan was also a five-time Emmy nominee for his writing for The Rosie O'Donnell Show, and he contributed songs and comedy material to shows and specials such as The 1999 and 2000 Grammy Awards, The 1998 and 2000 Tony Awards, ABC's A Rosie Christmas special, HBO's Kids Are Punny, Fergie, and ABC's Kids Are People Too. Alan has also created shows, developed concepts and produced pilots for TNN, VH1, and King World.

Alan also scripted episodes for animated shows including Taz-Mania, Goof Troop and Disney's Raw Toonage (Emmy nominee for Best Writing). Alan also created and wrote long running stage shows including Glued to the Tube and The Wheel of Fortune Live Tour, and he developed and wrote the Nickelodeon Studios Live Tour at Universal Studios in Orlando.

Alan has written print, television and radio advertising and promotional campaigns for a wide array of consumer products and entertainment properties, including Pepsi, McDonald's, Disney World, The Weather Channel, HBO, Showtime, and many of the Rainbow Media networks.

Alan lives in Fairfield County, Connecticut with his wife and their four kids.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots and lots of fun!!!!, February 24, 2002

By 

C.S. (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs (Hardcover)

What a fun book! My son is 11 months old, and I've been singing to him since he was an infant, usually made-up songs. When I saw this book I thought it would give us a whole new batch of songs to sing, and it HAS!!! My baby loves these, and when I sing them to him he just laughs and laughs, and I laugh - I can't help it. They are hysterical!

...Some of the images are gross in a harmless way (a food fight, a dirty bedroom) but the songs are very appropriate for small children, and lots of fun for the Mama and Daddy singing them, too. My husband says he found himself singing "Brother Mitch" the other day at work!!!

This book is terrific. If you have a sense of humor, and you sing to your babies, this makes a good addition to your book collection.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'll never sing another kids' song the same way again, September 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs (Hardcover)

The illustrations are fantastic. The lyrics are even better. What more can I say? It really is a great book and my daughter loves it. I'd like to see a CD with these songs (and more); the accompanying sound track would be hilarious. If you like to sing to your kids and have a great sense of humor, make sure this is on your list of books to buy.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buying another, because my copy is worn from use!, December 7, 2005

By 

Lisa Davis - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs (Hardcover)

I am an elementary music teacher and absolutely LOVE this book and it's sequel. We pull it out on those days right before a break or a holiday when the kids can't focus and just want to have fun. We sing the real song, such as "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and then sing the twisted version: "Stinky, Stinky, Diaper Change." The kids laugh at the more slapstick humor, but I grin at the more subtle wit. Forget the age 4-8 listing. I have 6th grade boys that love these songs, and the classes can't wait to see the outlandish pictures after we've sung the song. They gasp and squeal even when they already know what's coming. I'm buying a second copy, because after 3 years of dragging the first one along during fire drills, loaning it out over weekends, and having eager kids flipping through to find their favorite song, mine is worn out. The kids are writing their own "silly dilly" song-lyrics to get their name put into a drawing to win the old copy. :-)