There's an Elephant in My Bathtub Giveaway and Review

Giveaway Link Below! :)

Written by Connie Bowman
Illustrated by Kelly O'Neill
Published December 10, 2018

Why we chose this book:
The opportunity to participate in the blog tour for this book arose, so I talked with T about it. I told him a bit about the book and showed him the cover, and he said he really wanted to read and review it! A review copy was provided as part of this blog tour.

Mom's Review

A father cleans up his child's stuffed animals, imagining them to be real.

Most of There's an Elephant in My Bathtub is a father's apostrophe to his son, whom we meet at the conclusion. He tells how he found an elephant in the bathroom, a gorilla in the kitchen, and a camel in his study, among others. Each time, he invites the animal to follow him to the child's room. After numerous creatures are corralled in the child's bedroom, the child is advised to peek through the door before entering. When he opens the door, we see him and his father (who wears safari gear) entering a jungle-like environment filled with the animals. Only on the last page do we see the child tucked into bed with a collection of stuffed animals; parent and child have imagined them to be real.

What I like so much about this book is the depiction of an adult's imagination in the absence of a child. Even though the child is at school (I assume this based on the uniform-like attire), the father maintains the fiction of the toys' lives; then together they resume their safari game. Now, this is purely my interpretation. Since more of a frame is not specified, the audience is free to speculate the fun and games that the father and son share. T and I could both relate to this, as his stuffed animals and toys are often attributed consciousness. And precisely because we could relate to the story, it became a springboard for conversation about his toys. Are they alive like in Toy Story? Do I play with them when I clean up? Did I think my toys were alive as a kid? Are the animals in the story really real? Although the parent in the book is male, the outrageous mustache leaves the reader feeling like he isn't a real, particular individual, but rather a representation of an adult caretaker. An adult could easily identify with him, and a child could easily replace him with their own adult.

The impression that There's an Elephant in My Bathtub leaves is there are no limits on imagination, and there is great joy to be found in make-believe.

(And it made me feel better about telling Jesse, Woody, and Buzz, "There you go, back in the playroom now," when I put them away.)

Son's Review
(Age: 3 and 1/2 years old)

Son: They were really his buddies. You know, that's kind of like Toy Story.
("Buddies" is the term in our home for stuffed animals.)

Mom: How so?

Son: Because they're all alive and in Toy Story all the toys are alive and at the end he is snuggling them and that's kind of like Toy Story because Andy didn't know his toys were real so he played with them.

Mom: I had thought the animals were real the whole time. I didn't expect them to be buddies.

Mom: What did you like?

Son: I liked that all those different animals got told to go to the bedroom.

Mom: Did you like the daddy? Would you want to play with him?

Son: I like how he pretends. I would!


Giveaway:

Enter to win a copy of There’s an Elephant in My Bathtub by Connie Bowman, and a menagerie of stuffed animals!

Enter Here: https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2018/12/theres-an-elephant-in-my-bathtub-by-connie-bowman-awareness-tour.html

One (1) winner receives:
An autographed copy of There’s an Elephant in My Bathtub
AND
A menagerie of stuffed animals, as featured in the prize image

Nine (9) winners will receive:
An autographed copy of There’s an Elephant in My Bathtub

Giveaway begins December 1, 2018, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends December 31, 2018, at 11:59 P.M. PST.

Giveaway open to residents of Canada and the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older.

Connie Bowman is responsible for prize fulfillment.

Extras:
Video: Cute Broadway/Youtube video version of the book

         

Author's website: http://conniebowman.com/

Buy the book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Q1eNNF

Disclosure:
Per FTC guidelines, I disclose partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Connie Bowman.