The Big Bath House
The author remembers a childhood visit to her grandmother’s house in Japan, where, as with previous visits, she, her mom, her grandma, her aunts, and her female cousins all go to the bath house shortly after their arrival. The bath house is a place of cultural tradition and family ritual. “Baachan’s stool is a throne. She is the Queen of the Baths. With a tall towel crown, she’ll wash your hair, while the aunties scrub each other’s backs.” It’s where the narrator and her cousins do “the soapy-leg can-can.” And it’s where “You’ll all dip your bodies, your newly sprouting, gangly bodies, your saggy, shapely, jiggly bodies, your cozy, creased, ancient bodies. Beautiful bodies.” Then comes a big towel and waiting arms, getting dressed, tasty treats, and a walk home through nighttime streets. “You’ll reach for Baachan’s hand, and she’ll reach for yours. And it’ll be understood. (Some things just go without saying.)” The sense of family love and the joy of reunion is palpable in a picture book that incorporates Japanese words and phrases. The lively ink, gouache, and watercolor illustrations wonderfully reflect the nonchalant normalcy of naked bodies of all types, as well as many other details of the setting. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Gracey Zhang
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 3-7
Age Range:
Babies/Toddlers (birth – 3)
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Aunts
Cousins
Girls and Women
Grandmothers
Japanese and Japanese Americans
Japanese Language
Multiracial Characters/Families
Traditions
Diversity subject:
Asian
Publishers:
Penguin Random House, Random House Studio
Publish Year: 2021
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9780593181959
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Maclear