Captain Bob Sets Sail

Schotter (Dreamland) sets a snappy beat for this irresistible bathtime book cum pirate fantasy. Popping a rambunctious boy in a pirate hat into the tub--he is ""the bravest and best captain that ever sailed the Soapy Seas""--she creates an imaginary world where there are ""ducks and deep-diving dinosaurs and boats bobbing and banging and splashing and crashing."" The fearless Bob survives an attack by ""a ruby-ringed Sea Hand"" (his mother), declaring, ""Wash me! Slosh me! You'll never ever squash me!"" Schotter's playful, rhythmic language and her jolly pacing turn her simple conceit into a story that virtually demands an enthusiastic read-aloud. Cepeda's (Nappy Hair) puckish perspectives at times leave Bob distorted, but his color-drenched oil paintings--from the purple tub and emerald green carpet to the orange walls, turquoise water and bright yellow rubber ducky--will grab readers by the lapels of their bathrobes. Yo ho ho and a bottle of shampoo! Ages 3-7. (May)