About book Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine: With Audio Recording (2014)
A wonderfully silly, upbeat, and entertaining read from the illustrations to the concept to the rhyming verses that tell the story. I honestly wasn't sure if this was non-fiction until I read the author's note at the end. I loved that you get a sense of the adoration that Prince Albert had for his wife, Queen Victoria in this story as he builds something that will allow her to enjoy swimming while remaining decent and modest in the eyes of her subjects. This amusing picture book shows readers a little-known facet of Queen Victoria's life: her urge to swim in the ocean, the social laws she would break by doing so, and how her husband finally devised a plan that let her take a dip. This fancifully-described true story includes a bibliography, a picture of the bathing machine, and an author's note with more information about Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and the machine.This is a fun idea for a picture book, and it brings a piece of history to life in an interesting way. It would be a great opener into discussions of monarchs, or of social conventions. As often happens in rhyming picture books, the rhythm is thrown off in a few places, but it flows fairly well throughout most of the book. While some nudity is hinted at -- its avoidance, after all, is the crux of the story -- the reader never sees more than a bare arm or knee.
Do You like book Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine: With Audio Recording (2014)?
A rhyming account of the invention of Queen Victoria's bathing machine.
—lina
Based on the true story of Queen Victoria wanting to go swimming.
—bethanne
Interesting historical story about grownups.
—marinel
