Bathtime can be hit or miss with kids. Some kids LOVE it, but others just can’t wait for it to be over. Regardless of which camp your kids fall into, they’ll love these picture books about bathtime. While some picks on this list focus on getting kids to love bathtime, many are geared toward kids who already do. Ultimately, these books present bathtime as a mini-adventure that kids can look forward to. You’ll find everything from indestructible board books to interactive touch-and-feel picture books.
Best Picture Books About Bathtime
Here are some of the best picture books about bathtime:
Off to See the Sea
Published: January 12, 2021
Night has fallen and Mom and Dad need to get their little one in the tub. To make it more fun, Mom brings a magical adventure out at sea to life, where the faucet is a waterfall, a rubber ducky is a sea creature, and the splashing water is a raging sea! In their ocean journey, Mom and Dad manage to get their little one clean just in time to dock for bedtime.
Naughty Ninja Takes a Bath
Published: January 1, 2020
After crossing raging rivers and tromping through the jungle, Naughty Ninja returns to his secret ninja training camp for lunch. But when he gets inside, his parents tell him he needs a bath. Before Naughty Ninja gets in the tub, he notices poisonous flies and an angry alligator circling his dad, who doesn’t even seem to know he’s in trouble. Good thing Naughty Ninja is around to save the day!
The Pigeon Needs a Bath!
Published: January 1, 2014
The Pigeon really needs a bath! Except, the Pigeon’s not so sure about that. Besides, he took a bath last month! Maybe. It’s going to take some serious convincing to try and get the Pigeon to take the plunge.
Get Out of My Bath!
Published: August 4, 2015
Ellie the elephant loves to have fun in the bath, but she’s not the only one. Her fun is interrupted when a crocodile decides to join her, followed by a flamingo, then a mouse and even a tiger! Poor Ellie’s bath is ruined. What can she do? She sucks all the water into her trunk, of course! Then she waits until all the uninvited animals have left before squirting it back. Finally she can enjoy her bath in peace! A beautifully designed, boldly illustrated picture book for the very young in which readers are encouraged to get involved in the story through tilting and shaking the book.
Bathtime Fun!
Published: July 15, 2021
Bathtime is FUN!!! Find out why in this bubbly, fun-to-read-aloud, tugboat adventure. With bright, bold, and playful illustrations, diverse characters, and an engaging, rhythmic text, this delightful book is sure to spark the imagination of young readers everywhere. When you combine adventure with getting clean, bath time is a fun time!
Bubble Head, It’s Time for Bed
Published: September 15, 2021
Wait, what? A bedtime book that secretly gets your kids to WANT to TAKE A BATH and BRUSH THEIR TEETH?
YES!
This rhyming bedtime book uses the DAYS OF THE WEEK to teach the importance of HYGIENE and a nighttime routine in an imaginative story your kids will want to read again and again.
“SUNDAY, I’m a SAILOR with a ship to rule the waves. My quest today is simple–search for treasure in the caves.” What will Fred be on MONDAY?
When it’s time to go to sleep, will Fred’s bedtime routine help him settle down?
Come SPLISH and SPLASH along on this WATER-ful adventure.
But shhh!
Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure
Published: April 28, 2015
Laugh out loud in this hysterical epic counting bath adventure with a squeaky clean twist!From Derek Anderson, the illustrator of the bestselling Little Quack series!One very happy pig –one bubbly bathtub.Everything is perfect until nine more join in!And ten?Ten wiggles and squeezes And surfs his way in.One pig looks to take a relaxing bath in solitude, only to be joined by another pig, then another, then another. When Pig Number 10 jumps into the crowded tub, the first pig comes up with a plan to enjoy his bath.
Pig the Stinker
Published: April 30, 2019
In this hilarious adventure, Pig the Pug STINKS! Pig likes to be smelly, so he rolls around in the garbage, laps up spoiled milk, tracks dirty paw prints all over the house, and even sticks his head in the toilet! But enough is enough! Pig’s owner tries to get him to take a bath, but Pig refuses! Pig has a plan to stop up the tub, but when it backfires, will Pig get clean after all? Rich with author-illustrator Aaron Blabey’s signature rhyming text and unforgettable illustrations, Pig the Stinker is a laugh-out-loud story that teaches Pig — and readers — an important (and hilarious) lesson, just like in the five previous books in the series (Pig the Pug, Pig the Winner, Pig the Elf, Pig the Star, and Pig the Fibber).
It’s Bath time! Indestructibles
Published: April 13, 2021
Little elephant, let’s get clean. Splash!
Lion cub is messy, too. Lick, Lick!
Now it’s your turn, baby. Yay, bubbles!
Learn all about bath time in a book that’s INDESTRUCTIBLE.
Indestructibles is the trusted series for easing little ones into storytime. Beloved by babies and their parents, Indestructibles are built for the way babies “read” (i.e., with their hands and mouths) and are:
- Rip Proof—made of ultra-durable tight-woven material
- Waterproof—can be chewed on, drooled on, and washed!
- Emergent Literacy Tool—bright pictures and few or no words encourage dialogic reading
- Portable—lightweight books can go anywhere, perfect for the diaper bag and for travel
- Safe for Baby—meets ASTM safety standards
Baby Einstein: Splish! Splash! Bath!
Published: November 5, 2019
Your little one will love making a splash with their favorite Baby Einstein characters! This fun book is soft, durable, and floats in the water. It is also easy to clean and ready to be used again and again.This bath book is special because
- Includes amazing Baby Einstein characters
- Makes bath time fun for your little one
- Soft pages are durable and easy to clean
Bath Time!
Published: October 19, 2007
It’s Boynton for the bath!
Hey! Hey! What do you say! It’s time to take a bath today.
From the irrepressible Sandra Boynton, an irresistible storybook for bath time. It’s a classic tale of pig meets paint. Spattered with colors from a long day at the easel, the pig takes to the tub, washcloth in hoof, determined to get all pink and clean. On the last page, the snout has a bound-in squeaker. Get it? Squeaky clean?
Bath Time! is waterproof, nontoxic, completely baby-safe—and it floats!
Bathtime for Twins
Published: June, 2012
Bathtime fun, times two! An adorable duo heads for the tub in this board book companion to Playtime for Twins.
Splashy, sploshy, splish.
We are little fish!
A delightful set of twins show what a blast bathtime can be in this playful board book. Expect grins and giggles from little ones as these funny siblings splash, have tea, play peek-a-boo, and more, until it’s time to say “good night.” Bubbly, rhyming text from Ellen Weiss and soft, charming illustrations by Sam Williams bring this playful story to life.
Time for a Bath
Published: October 7, 2014
Winter, spring, summer, and fall: In every season kids get dirty, so in every season kids need a bath! Go through the year with little bunny—splashing in puddles, rolling in grass, eating a drippy banana split, and painting pictures. And when there’s a mess, it’s rub-a-dub-dub from head to toe. This adorable follow-up to Time For a Hug will make bath time fun!
Bathtime Mathtime
Published: June 26, 2018
Take one messy baby, two busy feet, three rambunctious friends, four wayward ducks, and five floaty bubbles–and get a tubful of fun as one family’s bathtime routine turns into a nightly ritual they can “count on”!
Danica McKellar uses her proven math success to show children that math is all around us as she cleverly introduces the early addition concept of “counting on”–the idea that when we add 1, we can get the answer by simply counting on to the next number. This next book in the McKellar Math line shows that even washing your hair can be full of math fun!
Bathtime for Little Rabbit
Published: August 1, 2017
Who enjoys having their ears washed? Little Rabbit doesn’t like the idea, but it turns out to be not so bad after all. But he does need your young reader’s help. When the blow-dryer breaks, we must blow his ears dry. Wfffff! Keep blowing! Now wrap him in the towel and bath time is over. Squeaky clean, Little Rabbit!
Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg
Published: May 14, 2013
Cowpoke Clyde’s house was completely clean—he’d even shooed off the horseflies: “Then right behind his cookin’ pot, / he spied one thing he’d plumb forgot: / ol’ Dawg, his faithful, snorin’ friend, / all caked with mud from end to end.” Needless to say, Dawg wakes up and runs. The chase that follows—with page-turn surprises—makes for a hilarious shaggy-dog story involving fleas, a hog, bribery, cats, deception, and a mule. The rhyming stanzas are pitch-perfect, Texas-style, and plumb near cry out to be read aloud. Austin’s expressive acrylic and colored-pencil caricatures of Cowpoke Clyde and his menagerie are priceless. A storytime shoo-in!
When Your Lion Needs a Bath
Published: July 11, 2017
When your lion needs a bath, you have to be pretty sneaky! This charming and hilarious board book highlights the many ways to get your lion into that tub!
Does your lion need a bath? When your lion needs a bath, you must be a little sneaky. After all, have you ever met a cat who likes water? So gather up your towels and rubber ducks and get that lion into the tub! But be careful…or you just might end up in the bath, too!
Touch and Feel Ella’s Bath Time
Published: July 27, 2020
Follow along in this touch-and-feel book as Ella the muddy elephant stops by to see her friends, who are all getting ready for bed. This is Ella’s happiest time of the night. It’s finally Ella’s bath time! Is your child as excited for bath time as Ella is?
- Board book with touch and feel material on every spread
- Rhyming bedtime story with interactive touch and feel fun
- Story features an adorable elephant along with other jungle friends; owl, tiger, zebra and ducky
- Encourages a bath time routine for young children
- Add a new board book to a child’s library today!
These fun children’s books are perfect for reading anytime or to give as gifts for special occasions such as, birthday gifts, baby shower wishing well gifts or for holidays such as Christmas, Easter or Valentine’s Day. Look for our other touch and feel board books, children’s padded board books, novelty books and more at amazon.com/littlehippobooks.
Peep and Egg: I’m Not Taking a Bath
Published: October 24, 2017
In this lively addition to the funny Peep and Egg picture book series for toddlers, a reluctant chick named Egg overcomes her aversion to taking a bath.
Peep thinks Egg needs to take a bath after playing in the mud. But Egg is not taking a bath. Not in the river, not in the duck pond, and definitely not in the dog’s water bowl―too slobbery! Does Peep have any tricks up her feathers to help a chick change her mind? Laura Gehl and Joyce Wan are back with another fun, colorful story that takes the “not” out of “I’m not taking a bath!”
Around the World in a Bathtub
Published: June 20, 2017
Explore bathing practices in different countries and cultures in this lively, colorful picture book.
From a hammam in Turkey to a maqii on the Alaskan tundra, this book shares the bath-time battle that happens every night around the world. “Yes, yes!” say the grown-ups, “No, no!” say the children, and the chase is on! Bath time may take many forms, but it’s a ritual we all share.
Bath! Bath! Bath!
Published: February 6, 2018
Bath time is fun! fun! fun! in this playful board book!
Today we had such fun! fun! fun!
But now the day is done! done! done!
After a fun-filled day, it’s time to go home and take a bath! From washing tiny toes and your little nose to making rubber ducky go quack! quack! quack!, bath time is fun! fun! fun!
The rhyming text makes this the perfect read-along story to get little ones excited for bath time.
Splish, Splash, Baby!
Published: May 12, 2015
Splish, splash! It’s time for Baby’s bath in this interactive Karen Katz lift-the-flap board book that’s all about fun in the tub!
What’s behind the bath bottles?
Three yellow ducks! Quack-quack!
What’s inside the bucket? Is it Baby’s soap?
No, that’s a little tugboat! Toot-toot!
In this interactive book from Karen Katz, little ones can play with sturdy, easy-to-lift flaps on each page to reveal all the things in Baby’s bathtub. Filled with bright, striking art and multicultural babies, this book is sure to make even the most reluctant of bathers hop into the tub.
How Do You Take a Bath?
Published: October 23, 2018
How do YOU take a bath?
Does your mama comb your fur?
Do you shake off all your dirt?
Do you splash and flap and quack?
Do the birdies peck your back?
No!
Follow elephants, pigs, monkeys, hippos, and more in this charming rhyming picture book from veteran author Kate McMullan. How does a pig take a bath? It sinks in the mud! What about a chicken? It thrashes about in dust! And a cat? Why, it licks itself clean, of course! Sydney Hanson’s adorable illustrations toggle neatly between animals in nature grooming themselves and humorous depictions of children attempting the animals’ bathing tactics. By the end of the book, the child finally makes his way to the bathtub, no mud baths or lick baths about it!
How to Give Your Cat a Bath: In Five Easy Steps
Published: January 22, 2019
Step one: fill the bath
Step two: put the cat in the bath
Step three: put shampoo on the cat
Step four: rinse the cat
Step five: dry the cat
Seems simple, right? One problem: the cat has no intention of doing ANY of these things! Watch as the steps keep changing, the cat keeps escaping, the girl keeps eating cookies and the mess keeps escalating. Soon it’s not just the cat who needs a bath–it’s the whole house!
This spoof on an instruction manual features an increasingly bewildered human, a nonchalant cat and a know-it-all narrator . . . who really doesn’t know it all. How DO you give a cat a bath? Read on to find out!
How to Wash a Wooly Mammoth
Published: January 21, 2014
Things can get a bit messy when you try to wash a woolly mammoth. Follow this step-by-step guide to successfully clean up your hairy friend. Be forewarned! A mammoth’s tummy is terribly tickly.
Young readers and parents alike will appreciate this hilarious bath time adventure in How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth.
Bears in the Bath
Published: April 8, 2014
Splish! Splash! Sploosh! The adorable stars of Bears on Chairs and Bears in Beds are back, and they’re ready for bath time. Or are they?
Water, soap, and sponge are there. The bath is ready. Where are the bears?
The four little bears are grimy, dirty, and covered in mud! But when they see the bath and Big Brown Bear ready to scrub, they back away. “We don’t want a bath,” they say. Will those grungy bears ever get in the tub? Whether bath time’s a favorite time of day or a fraught one, this fun-to-read rhyming story and the silly antics of impossibly cute bears will make a splash with toddlers and parents alike.
Something Smells!
Published: July 31, 2018
Elliot wakes up one morning to the most terrible smell. But what could it be? Find out in this gentle introduction to hygiene that’s stinkin’ adorable!
One morning, Elliot wakes up and smells something awful.
Is it the trash? No…
The dog? No…
Dad?
His sister?
The baby?
Grandma’s famous gerfartzenschanffel? No, no, no, and no!
Elliot searches high and low for the something that smells, but he just can’t find it, and it’s driving him and his nostrils crazy. Almost as bad, now his mother wants him to take a bath, which means taking off his super cool skeleton costume that he’s been wearing since Halloween! The funny thing is, after Elliot finishes his bath and Mom puts his costume in the wash, something doesn’t smell anymore…
Tubby
Published: November 15, 2011
It’s time for a bath! Whee! And Baby obliges as only he can, playing with bubbles (and using them to make facial disguises from Santa’s beard to bunny ears), imitating a motorboat, and letting Mommy wash his single hair. And what would tubby time be without running away naked and shiny clean–only to be scooped up and tickled? A beloved bedtime ritual takes on new joy in Leslie Patricelli’s bright artwork, exuberant language, and simple, familiar scenes.
Little Owl’s Bathtime
Published: January 7, 2021
Little Owl doesn’t want to have a bath.
He wants to finish building his moon rocket.
He wants to stomp around in his dinosaur suit.
Besides, bathtimes are boring – aren’t they?
But what if this bathtime involves a giant invisible penguin, a bunch of slurping towelly-gators and a trip to Bubble Mountain? It looks like Little Owl is about to have the best bathtime EVER!
Baby Animals Take a Bath
Published: February 7, 2017
It’s bath time in the animal kingdom!
Meet eight little critters from around the world as they clean up, each in their own way. From plunging through a snowdrift to steaming in a hot spring, lyrically simple text and charming painted illustrations introduce little listeners to a world of hygiene. And of course, everyone will recognize the surprise ninth entry at the end! A list at the back of the book gives the names of each baby animal in the order they appear.
Bathtime (Wild)
Published: October 31, 2014
Bathtimes can be wild, especially when animal babies are involved! Sometimes messy, often chaotic and always exhausting, they offer perfect bonding opportunities – of a kind! Courtney’s wacky style and eye for detail perfectly illustrate the fun, laughter and love shared each day in family life.
Kid Tea
Published: March 1, 2007
Monday, fun day, mud-pies-in-the-sun day. What do you get when you dunk two muddy kids in a bathtub full of clean water? Kid Tea! The water in the tub changes color to match the food the brother and sister ate or the things they played with during the day. Brown for mud, purple for popsicles—a different color of “kid tea” for each day of the week! Kids will enjoy the repetitive, sing-song text: “Dunk me in the tub, please, for blue kid tea!” Glin Dibley’s playful art rendered in acrylic, color pencil, and digital techniques lends a hand in helping children learn about colors and the days of the week.
Bathtime Peekaboo!
Published: June 1, 2005
Play peekaboo with your baby and hear them giggle in delight as hidden surprises are revealed! Find a shiny yellow duck under a face cloth and a bumpy starfish under some foam until at the end of the book you will discover a squishy green frog under a sponge! The perfect way to get your baby interested in books and to spend special time together. Enjoy hours of peekaboo playtime fun!
There they are: 30+ of the best picture books about bathtime! Which of these have you read and loved? What did I miss?
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