I’m Still Here in the Bathtub: Brand New Silly Dilly Songs
In 2001, Alan Katz started a new trend with I'm Still Here in the Bathtub, a collection of 14 seriously silly song parodies, all set to the tunes of well known songs. I'm partial to the selections in his second volume, though you'll find gems in all of the books in the ever-expanding series. Let's see if you recognize these ditties. There's:
"My tiny baby brother took our remote control;
When I wasn't looking, he flushed it down the bowl..."
and (to be sung majestically and patriotically):
"My sister fights with me
We always disagree
And it's her fault."
You're right. Those are all-new words to the songs "The Eensy Weensy Spider" and "My Country, T'is of Thee." Not earthshaking stuff, but they'll crack kids up as they warble the words and sing up a storm.
Why should your child waste time singing these snarky little songs? You need an educational reason? No problem. This is true. There's no more effective way for kids to practice reading with comprehension and fluency than to read and sing the words to a song, since we don't sing a song one word at a time. Our eyes glide across the page when we're reading and singing. It makes us better readers. And, best reason of all, it's fun. The more fun it is to read, the more we want to do it. Make a family recording of these songs with your children, and then they can read and sing along in the car. Write a new one together to the tune of a familiar song.
Slapstick, puns, parodies, and wordplay also abound in Katz's Oops!, his new collection of 100 short, snappy poems, with cartoonist Edward Koren's scribbly pen and inks skittering across every page.
Reviewed by : JF.
Themes : HUMOR. PARODIES. MUSIC.
CRITICS HAVE SAID
- A knee-slappin’ good time, Katz and Catrow’s book is one can’t-miss ode to having fun! Readers will have a ball singing these re-fanagled words to their favorite tunes, and parents will enjoy seeing their kids giggling the whole time.
–Matt Warner, Barnes & Noble - All the tunes are familiar and the new lyrics fit in seamlessly. David Catrow’s hilarious illustrations just add to the enjoyment.
–Sharon Levin, Children
IF YOU LOVE THIS BOOK, THEN TRY:
Baltuck, Naomi. Crazy Gibberish and Other Story Hour Stretches. Linnet, 1993. ISBN13: 9781932279788
Booth, David. Doctor Knickerbocker and Other Rhymes. Ticknor & Fields, 1993. ASIN: B000JGIB0G
Florian, Douglas. Bing Bang Boing! Harcourt, 1994. ISBN-13: 978-0152058609
Freeman, Judy. Hi Ho Librario! Rock Hill Press, 1997. ISBN-13: 978-1890604004
Katz, Alan. Are You Quite Polite?: Silly Dilly Manners Songs. McElderry, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-0689869709
Katz, Alan. On Top of the Potty: And Other Get-Up-and-Go Songs. McElderry, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0689862151
- Katz, Alan. Oops! McElderry, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-1416902041
Katz, Alan. Smelly Locker: Silly Dilly School Songs. McElderry, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-1416906957
Katz, Alan. Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs. McElderry, 2001. ISBN-13: 978-0689829031
Katz, Alan. Where Did They Hide My Presents?: Silly Dilly Christmas Songs. McElderry, 2005. ISBN-13: 978-0689862144
Koontz, Dean. Paper Doorway: Funny Verse and Nothing Worse. HarperCollins, 2001. ISBN-13: 978-0060294885
Lee, Dennis. Dinosaur Dinner (With a Slice of Alligator Pie). Knopf, 1997. ISBN-13: 978-0679870098
Lee, Dennis. The Ice Cream Store. Scholastic, 1992. ASIN: B000IWAMAI
Prelutsky, Jack.For Laughing Out Loud: Poems to Tickle Your Funnybone. Knopf, 1991. ISBN-13: 978-0394821443
Prelutsky, Jack. The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders. Greenwillow, 2002. ISBN-13: 978-0060737764
Prelutsky, Jack. The New Kid on the Block. Greenwillow, 1984. ISBN-13: 978-0688022716
Schwartz, Alvin. And the Green Grass Grew All Around. HarperCollins, 1992. ISBN-13: 978-0064462143
Tripp, Wallace. A Great Big Ugly Man Came Up and Tied His Horse to Me. Little, Brown, 1974. ASIN: B0015RRBF4