King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub

King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub is a rollicking story of an unmannerly king. The marriage of the lyrical text with lush romantic illustrations in oil on pressed board lay bare the opulence of this self-indulgent monarch. The succulent double-page, full-bleed spreads revel in the grandeur of the idle rich and extend the text of this story in which a king refuses to exit his bath despite the best efforts of all at court only to be thwarted by his seemingly helpless page in a show of wit. Although young children will be mesmerized by the unadulterated beauty of this work, it is a rare opportunity to help high school students recapture the magic of poetry while teaching the mechanics of it including not only poetic and sound devices but also repetition, tercets and couplets, and the impact of structure.

King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood; illus. by Don Wood
Primary
Sandpiper
32 pp.
Published 1985
ISBN 978-0-1524-2730-6
$17.00

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