I'm not really a big believer in scaring children into doing things... ( )

This review published by Brigham Young University's The Children's Book and Media Review

After you take a bath, all the dirty water goes down the drain to feed the bath monster. Jackson loves everything about getting dirty, like playing in mud, climbing trees, and rolling down hills. His mother tells him that he has to take a bath or the Bath Monster, whose second favorite food is dirty bath water, will get him. Jackson decides that he doesn’t believe in the Bath Monster so he won’t take any more baths, but the Bath Monster still believes in Jackson. When he doesn’t get his nightly meal, the Bath Monster has to go find a way to get his first favorite food instead.

This book is an amusing approach to why children should take baths that does not include germs or the practical aspects of being dirty. The illustrations have a lot of brown in them, emphasizing the dirtiness of Jackson and some of his favorite activities. The Bath Monster is illustrated in a way that he looks scary, but also cute enough that he is unlikely to scare young readers. Some parents might not like that Jackson in the end chooses not to have a bath and go get more messy, but others will enjoy the whimsical nature of the book. ( )

I gave this book 3 stars just because it ends on a kind of scary note. Some preschoolers will be alright with it. But unless I was advertising a scary story program, I don't think I would read it in a storytime. But its a funny scary and lends well to an Arsenic and Old Lace humor. I liked the book, despite its abrupt scary-ish ending. ( )