When Your Lion Needs a Bath: A Roaring Good Read for Bathtime Adventures!
As a mom of two energetic little ones, I know how chaotic bathtime can get. It often feels like we’re wrangling a wild animal more than engaging in a peaceful cleaning session. So when I stumbled upon When Your Lion Needs a Bath by Susanna Leonard Hill, it felt like a perfect match—mixing my kids’ love of animals with the daily struggle of getting them into the tub. This delightful board book was named the Best Board Book of 2017 by Parents magazine, and it’s not hard to see why!
In this charming tale, we meet a lion who absolutely hates water. (Or perhaps he’s just like most of our household pets, right?) The story follows the narrator’s hilarious attempts to sneakily entice their lion into the bathtub, using imaginative tricks and plenty of humor. As we read, my kids giggled at the clever tactics used—a rubber duck here, a towel there—and they were completely drawn into the idea of bathing a giant cat.
Daniel Wiseman’s illustrations bring the story to life with vibrant colors and playful expressions that had my little ones clamoring to point out all the details. My daughter particularly loved the lion’s surprised face whenever another sneaky attempt didn’t go quite as planned. It sparked a conversation about our own pets and their reluctance to take baths—let’s just say that our dog is far from thrilled about that water hose!
What’s wonderful too is the engaging writing style. It’s fun to read aloud, and we often found ourselves imitating the lion’s roars. My son, who is turning three, loved chiming in with sound effects, making our reading all the more interactive—perfect for holding his wild attention!
One moment that made us all burst into laughter was when the lion suddenly splashed the narrator. It reminded me of how baths can sometimes turn into splash zones in our home, resulting in more water outside the tub than inside! When we finished reading, my kids couldn’t stop mimicking the lion’s antics, and that ended up turning our bathtime routine into a silly, imaginative adventure rather than a chore.
I would absolutely recommend When Your Lion Needs a Bath to fellow parents with little ones aged 1 to 3, especially those who enjoy storytelling with lots of giggles. It’s perfect for anyone looking to make bathtime a little more fun—or for those kids who might be a tad resistant to the whole idea of cleaning up! This book has joined our rotation as a family favorite, a staple in our bedtime reading.
In a way, it serves as a gentle reminder that even the wildest creatures (like my kids!) can find joy in the simplest of moments, like a warm bath—given, of course, that they can be “sneaky” enough to get there first! Happy reading, and may your own bathtime adventures be just a little less chaotic!
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