Splish, Splash, Splat!: A Picture Book About Swimming and Friendship for Kids (Ages 4-8)

Splat the Cat #5

by Rob Scotton

Splat does not want to have a playdate with Spike. Spike will break his toys and eat all of his candy fish! And he does not want to learn how to swim—water is horrible, scary, and wet! He's sure that this is going to be the worst day ever. But when the rest of their classmates rush straight into the pool, Splat and Spike find that they may have more in common than they thought. Will Splat overcome his fear of water and get into the pool? And how can he help Spike to do the same?

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Childrens, Storytime, Friendship, Summer, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 17, 2011

About the author

Rob Scotton is the bestselling author and illustrator of "Russell the Sheep," and "Russell and the Lost Treasure." His latest book, "Splat the Cat" is the story of a young cat facing all the wonders and worries of his first day at cat school. Rob's work can also be found on greeting cards, ceramics, textiles, prints, stationery, and glassware. An honors graduate of Leicester Polytechnic, Rob now lives in Rutland, England, with his wife, Liz, who is also an artist.

Reviews

[Kayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. By far my least favorite Splat book. I didn't like the characters calling each other "loser" and the storyline was just so-so.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a fan. It started out cute, but then it just felt crude and poorly executed.

[Kayla Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is a cute story that offers lessons on showing kindness to others, sharing, and conquering your fears. Lots of humor and illustrations that the kids love.

[Книжни Криле · Rating 4 out of 5]

Котаракът Пльок се завръща! Не с гръм и трясък, а с „Плис, пляс, Пльок!“. Издателство „Давид“ ни представя и второто приключение с пухкавия чаровник, създаден от известния илюстратор Роб Скотън. Дано на новото издание да му върви като по вода! Упс… Съвсем забравихме, че на Пльок направо му се изправя козината щом чуе за вода. А ако не си падаш по водата, то плуването направо те ужасява. Да, Пльок изпитва особена неприязън към басейна в училище. Подобни са чувствата му и към онзи самохвалко Спайк, който не се бои от нищо. Никак не му е лесно на Пльок, но може би тъкмо затова пък на нас не ни е никак трудно да му симпатизираме, нали? Прочетете ревюто на „Книжни Криле“: https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Няма значение колко си голям и силен, когато те е страх от новото, мокрото или различното, ти ставаш малък и беззащитен. И с пояс, плавници, жилетки и очила за плуване може да си помогнеш, но няма да влезеш във водата, ако не ти помогне приятел.
Харесвам този тип илюстрации, твърдата корица допринася към удоволствието да четеш и препрочиташ историята на Пльок!

[Rita Čikute · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ļoti jauka grāmatiņa, kas iedrošina mazo nebaidīties no ūdens😁

[Derek Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book started out with Splat dreaming of candy fish. He tries to get them and that is about the time his mom wakes him up. Splat is told to go take a bath and cleanup for school, and after he got caught trying to skip the bath, his mom makes him get in the tub. This is where we first find out Splat doesn’t like the water, he in fact is afraid of it. While in the bath, Splat’s mom shocks him with the announcement that today he is going to learn to swim at school. Before Splat could react to that, his mom drops another shocker on him; Spike is coming over for playtime. Splat is beside himself, Spike is the bully cat that eats all of Splats candy fish and breaks his toys. What a rotten day Splat is going to have. As he is walking to school, Spike rides by on his bike and splashes Splat with water from a puddle. At school, Mrs. Wimpydimple told the class that they were getting in the pool, and only the weird cat Plank was happy. Eventually every cat gets into the pool, except for Splat and Spike. Spike keeps running back for more floaties and animal rings, goggles and snorkels until there wasn’t anything else to put on. Both Splat and Spike kind of freak out when Mrs. Wimpydimple tells them to get into the pool, and that’s when they learn that both of them were afraid of the water. Splat uses a fishing line and candy fish to trick Spike into the water, and eventually Splat gets the courage up to get into the pool himself. They realize that it isn’t as bad as they though it was. The two of them play in the pool together, and after school play at Splat’s house. Spike only eats some of Splat’s candy fish, and only breaks one of the toys. In the end they became friends.

[Ariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splat doesn’t like Spike—he eats all his candy fish and plays with his toys until they break—and he also doesn’t like water—it’s scary, wet and makes him soggy. Splat is not happy when he has to have a play date with Spike and learn to swim on the same day. However, things turns out to the better when Splat and Spike bond over their fear of water and learn to get over it together and eventually become friends. The illustrations are made in mixed media. They are quirky and fun and match the humour of the story perfectly. Scotton uses frames in a very interesting way. Images would sometimes have very strong frames in a black line and a detailed background inside the frame, but part of the image would always seem to escape outside the frame: a tail, a pawn, a leg, a nose, a candy fish. It breaks the clear, clean, strong frame in a playful way that adds and matches the story. Other images have no frames at all and little to no background. These sometimes were combined in the same page to convey animation or sudden action, almost like panels in a comic without the frames. Other times, he would use bleed for dramatic effect on the more dynamic images. This is a great book for talking about tolerance and not judging a person too quickly.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never been a huge fan of Splat the Cat, but our girls love these books. The cat is adorable and the stories have some innocent charm, but I was frustrated by the seemingly vapid churning out of books in order to capitalize on a popular character. There have been eight books published in the last year or so and many of them weren't even written by Rob Scotton. I was not impressed.

But when we borrowed this book from the library, I was pleasantly surprised to see Mr. Scotton as the true author and not just the creator the series. The story was fairly entertaining and the illustrations are as cute as ever. It has a good message about overcoming a fear of the water and showing that learning how to swim is fun. I'm still not the biggest fan of poor Splat, but our girls really like him a lot. We enjoyed reading this story together.

[Nasima Begum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Splat's day from the beginning was not turning out good. From having a bath, as he hates water to a play date after school with Spike who teases him and does everything better than him. Splat's day gets worse when he is told he will have to go swimming. Everyone else goes into the pool one by one but Spike and Splat are left. Spike keeps making excuses to why he hasn't gone into the pool yet. Splat finally admits he hates water and he is scared and finally Spike admits he is just as scared. However, Splat comes up with the idea of using their favourite candy, Candy Fish to trick Spike into the pool. Spike realises the water is not so bad, which then encourages Splat to go into the pool. The story is a good read for early years. It can show that you can eventually overcome your fears and you don't have to do it alone. I think it'll help children become more courageous if the moral of the story is that you can eventually overcome your fears. Good read for children!

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Splat book, and not at all what I expected. Story at the beginning: this is rather cute. Story by the end: that was too "cutesy" for my taste. It was good enough for three stars, but even my seven-year old was bored by the middle of it. He walked away. It leaves me wondering if I'll try any other Splat books.

[MeatballBen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great. Splat is a cat. And he hates taking baths, he doesn't like getting wet or soggy. But then he takes swimming lessons. He is the last one in. He dreams of gummy-fish. At the end he likes the water.

I like the pictures because they were cool. I like them because they were nice. The gummy bears were funny.

[Lakeira King]

I love all the Splat books! I love the Illustrations as well! Splat overcame his fear of water/swimming. You can do a writing activity where the students can write or draw a picture about a fear they overcame.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite Splat book. Also some readers probably won't appreciate the characters calling each other losers.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately "loser" was used as an insult in this book; otherwise it's a cute story.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, although I'm not too fond of how many times the author used the word "loser" in here. My son enjoyed the story overall.

[Kristen Dutkiewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I appreciated the concept of both Splat and Spike overcoming their fear and getting into the pool, I did not love the name calling of “loser” in the book.

[Atiyeh]

Splat the Cat #5: Splish, Splash, Splat! is another delightful instalment in Rob Scotton’s beloved Splat series, perfect for early readers and toddlers. This board book captures the familiar charm of Splat, the lovable, fluffy cat, as he explores the joys (and occasional messes) of water play.

Scotton’s trademark humour and expressive illustrations shine on every page, making Splat’s antics both relatable and endlessly entertaining. The rhyming, rhythmic text is engaging and easy for young children to follow, encouraging interactive reading experiences. Kids will giggle at Splat’s mishaps while enjoying the bright, colourful artwork that brings the story to life.

This board book format is sturdy enough for little hands, making it ideal for shared reading or independent exploration. Splish, Splash, Splat! not only entertains but subtly reinforces themes of curiosity, problem-solving, and playful imagination.

Overall, this is a charming, fun, and visually appealing book that fans of the series—and newcomers alike—will adore. It’s a perfect pick for storytime, rainy days, or anytime children need a cheerful splash of adventure.

[Emilee Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter loves this book. The illustrations and the story about the cats themselves are adorable. Having said that, the writing drives me absolutely insane. I am an English major, specifically a Creative Writing major, and reading this book makes me want to grab a red pen and start slashing. I understand he wanted to write a bunch of S's in a book and have children learn the letter S. I can almost forgive that, but there are far too many narratives, far too many comma she said, Splat said, said Splat's mom, said Seymour, said said said said. It drives me crazy every time I read it aloud! I skip over EVERY "said Splat's mom" and most every direction written in this book and it Still makes SenSe in the Subtext without Saying Said Sixteen times, I Said... I also do not agree with how Spike calls Splat a "loser" four times in the book. He could have just called him Splattie and that would be enough of an annoyance. Back to school, NY TimeS BestSelling author, Said me.

[Sunah Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Splat does not want to play with Spike because he would break his favorite toys and eat lots of fish candy. Splat is also afraid of taking a bath because water is scary and wet. It turns out that Spike is afraid of water as Splat is.
The story is about overcoming fear, and the fear is engaged with friendship. Sometimes, sharing anxiety with others make a result of becoming friends. Splat thought Spike would not be afraid of anything, but after acknowledging Spike’s fear, Splat became confident of defeating phobia. Children who are afraid of water and swimming would get the courage to jump into the pool with friends.

[Alex Matzkeit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mein Kind liebt die Kater-Kamillo-Bücher und ich weiß nicht genau warum, aber sei's drum. Vielleicht ist es der maximalistische Illustrationsstil, der einen irgendwie plastisch aus der Seite anspringt, vielleicht der durch die Bilder vermittelte Plot rund um die Katze, die kein Wasser mag und in dieser Abneigung einen unerwarteten Verbündeten findet (und das obwohl das Kind Wasser liebt). Kritisiert wird häufig, dass es an einer Stelle heißt, eine Katze würde grinsen, obwohl sie auf dem Bild nicht grinst (aber eine andere). Eins von diesen Büchern, an denen man nichts aussetzen, aber auch nichts hervorheben kann.

[Beanling's Library · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read to 2 1/2yr olds and we weren’t a fan of the teasing/bullying or the name calling. Especially the use of the word “loser”. We’d rather not teach kids that that’s a name people call each other.

The story itself was cute. He’s scared of the water but eventually decides to be brave and realizes it’s not so bad after all.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Splat hates baths and now he has to learn to swim. Oh the horror. Plus his mom has arranged a play date with Spike. But spike is mean, will eat all Splat’s candy, and break all Splat’s toys. Maybe these two water fearing cats can find common ground.

[Hannah Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows that even if you think you will not like something doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. Splat and Spike didn't think they would like swimming but as soon as they did it they loved it. This book is great for young readers and shows them to always try new things!

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Misty (Reds Romance Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read about Splat, we loved it!!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations and a nice lesson about feeling fearful. My 4 yo. likes the Splat stories and they always spark discussion, which is a win in my book!

[Adam Nickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scarlett aged 6 *****

Poppy aged 4 *****

[Aiden and Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

GRL: L
DRA: 20

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Splat discovers that neither water nor Spike is as bad as he thought. Splat can probably be helpful in general for your more negative children.