How to Give Your Cat a Bath

in Five Easy Steps

Illustrated by John Martz
$8.99 US
Tundra | Tundra Books
On sale Jan 22, 2019 | 9780735263550
Age 3-7 years
Reading Level: Fountas & Pinnell H
Sales rights: World
In this hilarious and clever "how-to," a little girl and a know-it-all narrator are thwarted by a cat who refuses to take a bath. The perfect read-aloud for fans of Snappsy the Alligator and Interrupting Chicken.

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!
  • NOMINEE | 2023
    North Carolina Children's Book Award
  • NOMINEE | 2021
    The Joan Betty Stuchner - Oy Vey! - Funniest Children's Book Award
  • NOMINEE | 2020
    Illinois State Library Monarch Award
  • FINALIST | 2020
    Shining Willow Award
  • SHORTLIST | 2020
    Hamilton Literary Award
  • FINALIST | 2019
    Governor General's Literary Awards - Children's Literature - Illustration
Featured in School Library Journal's top 2019 "Funny Picture Books" list
One of CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens 2019
One of the Ontario Library Association’s 2019 Top Ten Titles

PRAISE FOR How to Give Your Cat a Bath in Five Easy Steps:


“This laugh-out-loud picture book can serve as a beginning reader. . . . The inevitable ending will delight both children and adults and this title will be requested over and over.” --STARRED REVIEWBooklist

“Early-years students will love the humour and irony of the situation. Highly recommended.” —Resource Links

“As the chaos unfolds, viewers will be delighted to track the cat through the chase scenes. . . . There’s a wry humor in the unseen narrator’s directives, and the text makes a particularly amusing counterpart to the little girl’s visibly increasing frustration with the whole endeavor.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"[A] pleasing and well-executed story that really is the cat’s meow. An excellent choice for independent reading and sharing in small groups.” —School Library Journal

“Everyone will appreciate this delightful book.” —Imaginary Elevators

"Martz’s expressive art lays out the runaway circumstances through vignettelike passages and dialogue balloons, capturing the experience of well-laid plans quickly unraveling into disaster." —Publishers Weekly

“Adorably frustrating . . . will have young readers slapping their foreheads in exasperation, but will reward them with a sweet, funny ending . . . Martz’s colourful line drawings match the happy, manic energy.” —New York Times

“Delightfully entertaining.” —Midwest Book Review

About

In this hilarious and clever "how-to," a little girl and a know-it-all narrator are thwarted by a cat who refuses to take a bath. The perfect read-aloud for fans of Snappsy the Alligator and Interrupting Chicken.

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!

Awards

  • NOMINEE | 2023
    North Carolina Children's Book Award
  • NOMINEE | 2021
    The Joan Betty Stuchner - Oy Vey! - Funniest Children's Book Award
  • NOMINEE | 2020
    Illinois State Library Monarch Award
  • FINALIST | 2020
    Shining Willow Award
  • SHORTLIST | 2020
    Hamilton Literary Award
  • FINALIST | 2019
    Governor General's Literary Awards - Children's Literature - Illustration

Praise

Featured in School Library Journal's top 2019 "Funny Picture Books" list
One of CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens 2019
One of the Ontario Library Association’s 2019 Top Ten Titles

PRAISE FOR How to Give Your Cat a Bath in Five Easy Steps:


“This laugh-out-loud picture book can serve as a beginning reader. . . . The inevitable ending will delight both children and adults and this title will be requested over and over.” --STARRED REVIEWBooklist

“Early-years students will love the humour and irony of the situation. Highly recommended.” —Resource Links

“As the chaos unfolds, viewers will be delighted to track the cat through the chase scenes. . . . There’s a wry humor in the unseen narrator’s directives, and the text makes a particularly amusing counterpart to the little girl’s visibly increasing frustration with the whole endeavor.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"[A] pleasing and well-executed story that really is the cat’s meow. An excellent choice for independent reading and sharing in small groups.” —School Library Journal

“Everyone will appreciate this delightful book.” —Imaginary Elevators

"Martz’s expressive art lays out the runaway circumstances through vignettelike passages and dialogue balloons, capturing the experience of well-laid plans quickly unraveling into disaster." —Publishers Weekly

“Adorably frustrating . . . will have young readers slapping their foreheads in exasperation, but will reward them with a sweet, funny ending . . . Martz’s colourful line drawings match the happy, manic energy.” —New York Times

“Delightfully entertaining.” —Midwest Book Review