President Taft Is Stuck in the Bath by Mac Barnett (review)

“So, did President Taft actually get stuck in the bath? Maybe. Maybe not. But more than a century later, this is the story we’re still telling. And to people like me, that’s all that matters.” So reads the author’s note for this delightful, smart, and silly story about the most famous bathtub misadventure in U.S. presidential history. Chris Van Dusen’s bold gouache illustrations make eager use of double-page spreads, creating the scene and capturing the sly jokes and apt personifications within Barnett’s rhythmic prose. These larger-than-life renderings and the no-nonsense dialogue perfectly suit the occasion, juxtaposing the grandeur of the White House with the exposed Taft and the rosacea-tinged government bigwigs surrounding him as they suggest butter, dynamite, and deep-sea divers to help the hefty leader (a amusing running gag has the vice president quite ready to assume office). Fleshy, funny, and fact-checked, this perfect Inauguration Day readaloud will plump up any presidential collection.