Books like King Bidgood's in the Bathtub
By Audrey Wood
Every day someone new marches in to get the king out of that bathtub, and every day he just calls for more bubbles and another snack. Your kid already knows bath time can turn into the whole day's event, so King Bidgood's in the Bathtub feels like proof they were right. Here's what to read next.
No royal refusals here, but the same delight in a kid solving giant problems on their own terms. George Shrinks by William Joyce keeps that gleeful independence.
Same rhyming swagger and grown-up-brought-low-by-domestic-life joke, but Pirates Don't Change Diapers by Melinda Long adds a screaming baby the whole crew can't outrank.
Same everyday-person-with-an-absurd-problem setup, but Imogene's Antlers by David Small has a whole household trying and failing to fix it.
Another vain, useless king who won't do his job, but Mustache! by Mac Barnett lets the fed-up subjects actually win.
Another king causing his own mess, but Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss makes the whole kingdom pay for it in sticky green goo.
Same big-personality caretaker refusing to bend, but Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola punishes the kid who meddles instead of the grown-up who won't budge.
No royal bathwater here, but Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming keeps that fairy-tale-gone-sideways humor, with a boy improvising his way through disaster after disaster.
Same rhyme-and-repeat pull that gets kids chanting along, but Cops and Robbers by Allan Ahlberg adds a Christmas Eve caper instead of a runaway king.
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.
If the sly wit under the silliness is what hooked your kid, Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl sharpens that same edge across six fairy tales gone wrong.
Reach for Science Verse by Jon Scieszka once your kid wants the wordplay bumped up a grade, past royal nonsense into rhymes about black holes.
Less royal nonsense, more sly negotiating, but Tops & Bottoms by Janet Stevens still rewards the underdog who refuses to play by the rules.
