No More Water in the Tub!

Arnold follows No Jumping on the Bed! with another open-ended, goofy tale of unforeseen consequences featuring brothers Walter and William. As Walter helps William fill the bathtub, their mother cautions, ``Leave the faucet on another minute, then no more water in the tub!'' Walter cranks the handle too quickly and too far, breaking it, and soon there is water, water everywhere. The current sweeps the claw-footed tub out the door of the boys' apartment and down the stairs, into one apartment after another. As the flood rages, William sits comfortably in his ceramic canoe, while the startled neighbors cling to a variety of makeshift flotation devices: ``Out went Mabel on the table.... Uncle Nash sat in the trash... Little Dottie sailed the potty.'' A cumulative roster of these rafts plays up the fun. Arnold uses colored pencil and watercolors to render every blue splash and shadowy hallway in smooth detail. Each object-bathroom fixture, floating toy or piece of furniture-is a masterpiece of shading and shape. The only problem here is that the adults' faces are more expressive and effectively drawn than the children's. Even so, the illustrations alone could explain to beginning readers the story of this wild water ride. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)