Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

Can four animals share a bathtub?Not if the pig protagonist, who utters a satisfied "Oink!" upon spotting the empty, large, white, claw-foot tub, has anything to say about it. No sooner is the pig in the water than: "Knock! Knock!" A sheep in a frilly pink skirt enters: "Maaa?" Is this a polite request to enter the bath? The pig doesn't answer but looks unhappy as the sheep climbs in and proceeds to splash. Another "Knock! Knock!" and a large, horned bovine wearing a shower cap and long yellow trunks appears. The bovine says "Moo?"; the sheep answers "Maaa!"; the pig just glowers. How could things get worse? Well, a donkey in another outlandish bathing costume shows up with a "Hee haw?" Soon the animal companions are talking up a storm, save for the poor pig—but in a completely wordless spread, the tables turn. With a few expressive pencil lines emanating from the water, Elliot finds a way for the pig to regain privacy. The surprised and then disgusted looks on the other animals' faces, their accusatory animal-sound questions, and then their huffy departures tell the story perfectly. The soft pencil-and-watercolor drawings are masterful in their simple details, and kids will enjoy telling the tale themselves, intoning the animal sounds in different ways to heighten the drama of the story.Told only in animal dialect and sound effects but with brilliant visual details, this story will become a bathtime favorite. (Picture book. 3-5)

Horn Book (Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

A little pig ("Oink!") settles into a bathtub until a little sheep ("Maaa?") with a toy boat comes in. Another knock brings a shower-capped cow ("Moo?"); then a life-preserver-sporting donkey ("Hee haw?") arrives. The pig looks comically more defeated with every page-turn. Told only through small-scale art and the animal and door sounds, the story uses smart pacing and energetic line work to draw out the droll humor.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Can four animals share a bathtub?Not if the pig protagonist, who utters a satisfied "Oink!" upon spotting the empty, large, white, claw-foot tub, has anything to say about it. No sooner is the pig in the water than: "Knock! Knock!" A sheep in a frilly pink skirt enters: "Maaa?" Is this a polite request to enter the bath? The pig doesn't answer but looks unhappy as the sheep climbs in and proceeds to splash. Another "Knock! Knock!" and a large, horned bovine wearing a shower cap and long yellow trunks appears. The bovine says "Moo?"; the sheep answers "Maaa!"; the pig just glowers. How could things get worse? Well, a donkey in another outlandish bathing costume shows up with a "Hee haw?" Soon the animal companions are talking up a storm, save for the poor pig—but in a completely wordless spread, the tables turn. With a few expressive pencil lines emanating from the water, Elliot finds a way for the pig to regain privacy. The surprised and then disgusted looks on the other animals' faces, their accusatory animal-sound questions, and then their huffy departures tell the story perfectly. The soft pencil-and-watercolor drawings are masterful in their simple details, and kids will enjoy telling the tale themselves, intoning the animal sounds in different ways to heighten the drama of the story.Told only in animal dialect and sound effects but with brilliant visual details, this story will become a bathtime favorite. (Picture book. 3-5)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Eager to take a bath, a pig hangs his towel from the stepladder and climbs into the tub. It closes its eyes contentedly, but the moment of quiet is cut short by a knock on the door. A sheep, dressed in a skirted swimsuit and carrying a toy boat, enters and excitedly jumps in, mussing the towel and splashing the pig in the face. Subsequent spreads depict the pig-s growing distress as a cow and a donkey, replete with water toys and elaborate swimming costumes, crowd the small tub. Elliot (Snark) lets his charming illustrations tell the story (the book-s only text is occasional hand-lettered animal noises and onomatopoeia). Pencil-and-wash pictures in muted tones evoke a sense of calm, while splashes of bright color provide a contrast to the tranquil atmosphere; every time the door opens and someone new appears, bright orange spills from the room beyond. Readers will giggle at the pig-s pointed solution for clearing the tub in this humorous tale-the animals may have made a mess of the bath, but they flounce off in a hurry, leaving the contented animal in peace. Ages 4-7. (Apr.)