What You Never Knew about Tubs, Toilets & Showers

by Patricia Lauber

Book Overview

In the Middle Ages, St. Francis of Assisi listed dirtiness as a sign of holiness...But by the mid 1800s clean was in. The early Greeks and Romans were among the first to build public baths and toilets. One of the biggest Roman baths held three thousand people at once -- and everyone went naked! But when those empires fell, so did the standard for cleanliness. It would be 1,400 years before bathing came back into style.Newbery Honor-wining author Patricia...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689824203
• ISBN13: 9780689824203
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.3" x 9.8"
• Age Range: 6 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 4

Customer Reviews

"But, where did they go to the bathroom?"

The question, "Where did they go to the bathroom?" is asked at living hsitory museums all the time! Both adults and children want to know the every day details of basic human needs. At the Royal Governor's Palace, the jail, the courthouse, and the homes of signers of the Declaration of Independence -- THAT'S the question whispered by blushing adults or blurted out by curious children. This book answers all these questions in an honest, entertaining and accurate manner. The illustrations are appropriate for both children and adults. They are less revealing and/or "inapproprate" than classical art. I heartily recommend this book!

Most hilarious and resourceful book

I loved it! I thought the colorful illustrations were hilarious. The book not only entertains, it provides the reader with useful research information. Amusing sidebars poke fun at the primitive waste-disposal methods that prevailed through the ages. Readers will also be amazed to discover that baths were considered unhealthy during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It was not until the discovery of germs in the mid-1800s that the importance of cleanliness was recognized, and it wasn't until 1851 that the White House had a bathtub with running water. My only concern about the use of this book within the classroom would be the colorful illustrations of naked peoples backsides. The language of the book was very easy to follow and comprehend, which would benefit students ages 5 - up.

A quick history of cleanliness.

A quick history about plumbing, bathing, and attitudes towards cleanliness! Lauber takes us on a jaunt through history starting with the cave man and his ideas about bathing. She then jumps to the ancient Middle East, and then moves on to Greece and Rome. Then she covers the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Lauber then moves to the United States, and the rest of the book focuses on modern bathing. The book is illustrated by John Manders (who does an excellent job adding bits of humor in his drawings), and does not include any photographs of ancient ruins or artifacts or the like. But there is still plenty of information--did you know that ancient Romans used a sponge on the end of a stick instead of toilet paper? The stick was rinsed in salty water after they used it. And that a flush toilet was invented in 1594? This is a readable nonfiction book that makes learning about the history of cleanliness fun.

Another great book by this author/illustrator team!

After I had read their book on the history of dining, I couldn't wait for this one. Tubs, Toilets and Showers handles the awkward subjects of what you do in the bathroom and how people used to do it. It has vignettes from several cultures and time periods.Many children (and some adults) will be surprised to learn that the Europeans came to value cleanliness much later than did many other cultures. They may laugh to imagine how certain historical figures might have smelled. Since the book deals with bathing and eliminating, some of the illustrations do involve nudity. However, the illustrator has drawn the cartoons in such a way that genital areas are hidden. I would not find the drawings objectionable for young children. Baths and hygiene are often areas of conflict between parents and children. A book like this could give some perspective, and its humor could soften the family bathroom struggles.