Max's Bath

In these books author and illustrator work together to show a young child engaging with his world and enjoying the small events familiar to all toddlers . Each story has a little drama in which Max’s toys and his dog play their part. In Max’s Bath he places his toys - a ball, a truck and a bear -in the water with great delight. Then the drama starts: the family dog is made to have a bath whether it wants one or not. The toddler’s sometimes affectionate and sometimes rough treatment of the soft toy is the theme in Max’s Bear . When Bear falls headfirst into the potty Max is tearful but his dog rescues Bear and returns it tenderly to the little boy. The toys are taken for a ride in Max’s Wagon and the dog helps again by retrieving them when they fall out. But when the cookie drops, the dog finds it and then ‘the cookie is gone’. The final illustration shows Max searching for it while the dog looks on with a guilty expression. Children will love guessing what has happened. All three books show a toddler learning that dealing with a live creature with intentions of its own is different from playing with inanimate objects like toys. Everyday life will also be teaching this to the young listeners to the stories and it would be a good talking point.