From Publishers Weekly
This is an amiable but not especially original bathtime fantasy, in which the mud-loving O'Mally sisters discover that their bubble pipes create animals as well as suds. Six chickens, 12 frogs and one hungry alligator are thus conjured; the latter's all-too-clear intentions provide a moment of mild suspense before the menacing creature is pushed harmlessly out the window. Woodruff's conceit is similar to those in previous bathtime stories, including David McPhail's Andrew's Bath and Emilie McLeod's One Snail and Me . But the action in Tubtime is less antic--and thus less satisfying--than the exuberant romps in either of those works, and the language less colorful and sure. Stevenson's illustrations are cheery as ever, but they take on a certain sameness from page to page. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 1-- During their bubble bath together, the three little O'Mally sisters pick up their pipes and blow bubbles full of leaping frogs, squawking chickens, and a nasty alligator. These animals create a ruckus as the chickens peck their way out of their bubbles and liberate the frogs from theirs, and they all exit through the window. The kids push the alligator out the window just before Dad appears to check on them. The story closes as Mr. O'Mally agrees to blow a bubble for his girls, and readers sees the result: elephants floating down through the air past the first-floor window. The watercolor illustrations are loud and silly, portraying excited activity, but lacking the focus required to engage readers in all the hubbub. Because of the somewhat choppy style of the text, the fantasy is kept from flowing smoothly, and the result is a story that does not hold together. A lighthearted book that doesn't quite connect with its own energy. --Liza Bliss, Worcester Public Library, MA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
