Books like King Bidgood's in the Bathtub
By Audrey Wood
Every page of King Bidgood's in the Bathtub, someone new marches in to beg the king to get out, and every time he just splashes harder and stays put. Kids who treat bath time like a throne room get why he refuses. The books below are for families who want more of that soapy, stubborn joy.
Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola shares that funny mood and the same heart for responsibility with King Bidgood's in the Bathtub.
The grown-ups can't stop the mess in either book, but The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss adds two extra troublemakers and a fish who narrates the panic.
There's No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System by Tish Rabe shares that funny mood and the same rhyming read-aloud feel with King Bidgood's in the Bathtub.
No rhyming refrain this time, just pictures telling the whole runaway story. Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day lets your kid narrate the chaos themselves.
Shorter and simpler than the king's court, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is the pick for a kid who just wants the chant, not the plot.
Same singsong momentum that makes you keep turning pages, but Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson adds a friend at every stop instead of one stubborn king.
The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr shares that funny mood and the same big feelings around joy with King Bidgood's in the Bathtub.
Everyone in The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt has a complaint, just like the king's whole court, except this time the crayons are the ones staging the rebellion.
Just as stubborn as a king who won't budge, Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss turns one flat refusal into pages of increasingly silly pleading.
Reach for Fortunately by Remy Charlip when the giggles from watching one stubborn guy dodge disaster after disaster haven't worn off yet.
Grab If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Joffe Numeroff for a wiggly kid who liked how ridiculous one small demand can spiral into total household chaos.
