In this raucous tale, the Knight, the Duke, the Queen--and eventually the whole court--all try to lure King Bidgood from his cozy bathtub, but he won't get out! Will anyonebe able to solve this problem?
In celebration of the twentieth anniversary of a Caldecott Honor favorite, this new edition features a hardcover book and a musical CD with six original songs ranging in style from a minuet to a rap. Perfect entertainment for bath time or for bedtime, the joyful music and hilarious rhyming tale will provide hours of fun for young readers.
Grade 1-4 In this humorously original tale, various members of the Court, all clothed in elaborate Elizabethan dress, try to dislodge the King from his bubbly tub. Instead they are drawn into it with him, to "do battle" with toy ships and warriors; to eat a lavish feast; to fish and to dance. It is the young page who finds a solution, finally, by pulling the plug. Much of the delight is in Don Wood's meticulous oil paintings, which juxtapose the starched, overdressed, "shocked" demeanor of the Court with the King's twinkling, sensual, even lascivious manner. Minute details in the paintings emphasize this contrast; the red-haired naked King frolics while the fully-clothed courtiers emerge dripping from the bath with literally all their starch taken out. A voluptuous book whose rich range of colors and tones reflect the passing hours of the day. As in the Woods' Napping House (HBJ, 1984), the few simple words of text per large, well-designed page invite storytellingbut keep the group very small, so the children can be close enough to pore over the brilliant, robust illustrations. Susan Patron, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
Review
A Caldecott Honor Book
An ALA Notable Children’s Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
“Beauty aside, this also has a panache and sly wit that will please children and their parents, who will be called on to peruse the book again and again.”--Booklist
"[A] humorously original tale. . . . A voluptuous book."—School Library Journal
AUDREY WOOD is the much-loved author of more than thirty books for children, including the bestselling The Napping House, Piggies, Heckedy Peg, and most recently, Piggy Pie Po, which she collaborated on with her husband, Don Wood. She lives in Hawaii.
My first memories are of Sarasota, Florida in the winter quarters of the Ringling Brothers' Circus. I was one year old and remember it vividly. My father, an art student, was making extra income by repainting circus murals.
The people in the circus were my friends. I was bounced on the knee of the tallest man in the world and rocked in the arms of the fat lady who could not stand up. My first baby-sitters were a family of little people who lived in a trailer next to ours. They tAudrey2old me stories about the animals they worked with: Chi Chi the Chimpanzee, an elephant named Elder, and Gargantua the Gorilla.
My mother says I was a fast learner, always ahead of my age. My father taught me to swim before I could walk. I walked at seven months and climbed over a seven foot chain link fence when I was one year old. Everyone in the circus thought I was going to be a trapeze artist.
When I was two, I traveled with my parents to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where they studied art. Spanish became my second language. Because my mother read to me every day, I fell in love with books and was reading by age three.
My parents had two more girls, which made me the oldest sister. All of us were trained in the arts: music, dance, painting, and drama. We had a miniature stage in our basement, complete with light-bulb floodlights and a dusty red velvet curtain. Admission for the plays we produced was a bargain--twenty-five cents.
When I was in the first grade, I wanted to grow up to be an artist like my father. Then, in the fourth grade, I decided I'd like to be a children's book author. As an adult who writes and illustrates children's books, I have realized both my childhood ambitions.
I got in trouble in school once for crossing out my favorite author's name and putting in mine--Audrey Brewer instead of Dr. Seuss!
My great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were all professional artists. Since I am also a professional artist, there are four consecutive generations of artists in our family. However, I am the only female artist.
On our honeymoon, I read my new husband Don Wood the classic children's book entitled At the Back of the North Wind. Seven years later, we teamed up to create our first picture book together.
When our son Bruce Robert was two years old, I began to read picture books to him. He helped to remind me of my childhood ambitions. That's when I began to write children's books seriously.
When I was in 5th grade, I read King Bidgood's in the Bathtub, and got to hear the tape with it. It was so good, my brother and I would read it constantly. We would even walk to school singing the song (at the top of our lungs, of course!). A great children's book, all in all, with beautiful illustrations. The absurdity of fishing in a tub, going to war in a tub, eating lunch, and even having a royal ball in a bathtub will have you laughing in no time. Get it for the kids in you life, but I bet some adults will like it too!
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The story of King Bidgood is fun and happy and proves there is always an answer to things...just not the ones most would think of first!! The illustrations in this book are the most beautiful I've ever seen. My sons always find something new on each page, everytime we read it...again and again and again...!
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My family and I absolutely love this musical production of King Bidgood. The songs are extremely clever and terrifically performed. We all enjoy singing along. I have shared this tape with a first-grade class and they also thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend it to everyone!
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