Take Me Out of the Bathtub by Alan Katz

Illustrated by David Catrow. Margaret K. McElderry, New York, 2001.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 978-0689829031.

Katz showcases a collection of 14 very funny song poems such as "I've Been Cleaning Up My Bedroom" meant to be sung to the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad", and "Sock in the Gravy" sung to "Rockabye Baby". All of the topics center around ordinary home and family events gone awry, and all of the tunes are familiar nursery rhyme ditties or folk songs. David Catrow adds to the mayhem with his fanciful illustrations of food fights, overflowing bathtubs, and (ick) carsickness.

A couple of the songs need practice to scan properly, but most work well enough to sing at a toddler or preschool storytime.

Singing songs to familiar tunes aids in memorization. Most of the songs have a short plot line or expository story to tell to help with narrative skills.