Bathe the Cat

"[Bathe the Cat] will be an absolute hoot at storytime with the rhythmic text lending bounce and energy, and the wacky word play guaranteeing giggles. The father's increasingly frantic desperation is ripe for dramatic interpretation . . . The watercolor and pencil art has a retro feel, both in bold palette and stylized figures, but the family makes for a fully diverse representation of modernity, with the two Black dads wrangling their family into tidiness." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Clean-up time turns topsy-turvy when an interracial family's mischievous cat jumbles up their to-do list in this sure-footed picture book. . . . Pencil and watercolor scenes by Roberts (The Cook and the King) emphasize the increasing goofiness of the family's repeated efforts to get their mess under control, and light rhymes by McGinty (A Story for Small Bear) pair smartly with the amusing concept."--Publishers Weekly

"Lively, expressive watercolor-and-pencil illustrations of the multiracial family and animated scenarios are the perfect accompaniment for the peppy rhyming text, humorously depicting the household-chores chaos (and kitty's contributions) in this inviting, quite entertaining read-aloud friendly title."--Booklist

"McGinty's energetically rhyming story is good at delegating . . . Cleanly rendered illustrations show the family dutifully following orders while things go hilariously wrong. Roberts's (Ada Twist, Scientist) precise pencil and watercolor illustrations go beyond the entertaining premise to matter-of-factly portray a family at the intersection of a number of identities."--The Horn Book Magazine, starred review

"Told in rhyming verse, McGinty's silly yarn has charm to spare. Young readers will be tickled by the cat's mischievous misdirects and the resulting pandemonium. Roberts's pen and watercolor illustrations carry on the aesthetic tradition of Pat Hutchins and Judi Barrett, paying homage to the colors and fashions of the 70s. Each page is filled with well-conceived details that deserve close inspection. Preschoolers will be in stitches reading this modern revelry told through a vintage lens."--School Library Journal