The Tub Grandfather

I am 18 years old, and I have loved this book since childhood. I remember my weekly visits to the local library and always wanting to check this book out everytime. One day while I was doing some online shopping I decided that I needed to have this book in my personal library so that one day when I have children of my own I can share one of if not the favorite book from my childhood. I would reccomend this book to anyone, is is a warm heartfelt story of a familys strong bond (even if they are toys).

The Tub Family is playing on the rug, when they find a man under the radiator, covered with dust. They get him out, dust him off, and clean him up, but he won't wake up! Obviously, a Tub Grandfather with one eye worn away is still part of the family, just like any loved toy with worn or missing pieces is still valuable. The Tub Family tries everything to revive their long-long Grandfather! If a child is really bothered by the Tub Grandfather's worn-off eye, the family could draw it back in on each of the pages, and cross out reference to the missing eye in the text. Show the child how to use one's own imagination to fix a problem! If you liked first story of The Tub People, you will find this story equally quirky and even more touching. The second time I read it, I was weepy (but then again, I am almost enough to be the Tub Grandmother!).

My sons listened to this book intently several times. It tells the tale of a group of tub people that live in a bathroom finding another of their kind that somehow had gotten under the radiator a long while ago, and bringing him back to "life". He is the grandfather of the group, and the grandmother is very happy to have him back with her. The pictures are sort of mystical and mellow. While this is an interesting concept (we've all had members of our toy family go missing for a long time and then be found and brought back to the fold) I found it a bit of an odd story for kids. My older son was made quite nervous by it, asking "was the grandfather DEAD? How did he come back from dead?". He was also bothered by the fact the grandfather had lost an eye. If you think your kids might be made nervous by concepts like that, you might want to avoid this or at least read it through first yourself!

This book, along with The Tub People, charmed my daughter, now 9, from the time she was a toddler. The illustrations are so carefully rendered you feel you are really a part of the tub family. I don't know what exactly it is that captivates my daughter so, but something is definitely different about this book. It could be that all of us remember the joy of finding a once-beloved toy long lost and forgotten. We always enjoy coming to the end when the grandmother dances with the tub grandfather around the hooked rug...something about that scene is incredibly touching.