This book was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1986.
A bathtub be can such a wonderful place of play and imagination for children, and this book reminds us of that.
I love the illustrations. Before we even start the story, we can see the outside of the castle and the King bathing.
I love how the window frames him bathing here:
The expressions on the faces of the characters are classic.
What child does not like the idea of bathtub fun?!
Lunch in the bath? Yes please!
The details in this book are wonderful:
At this point in the book, I asked the children how they would get the King out of the bathtub? They always have some creative ideas.
A true problem solver!
The children entered into the Royal Library Castle with fanfare (the music: Stoney Castle Fanfare) and a red carpet:
On the projector:
My after school classes made crowns, and thanks to this amazing post, some wonderful robes.(Sadly the Dollar Store was out of red, but the children were happy with blue and purple). We wore our crowns and robes and had a royal procession. We waived to all of our subjects.
After our procession, I turned each child into one of my knights
My knights protected me, as we had to get to another castle. They fought off dragons, The Dark Knight, and a mean troll. They were indeed brave and worthy.
King Berto and Prince Beatrix:
Find more royalty fun here: