The Pickle Patch Bathtub

by Frances Kennedy, Sheila Aldridge (Illustrator)

Based on a true story. It's 1925 and Donna Delle Philp's legs have grown too long for the family's old washtub. But with her parents busy making ends meet on the farm, it's up to Donna to find a solution. Full color.

Genres: Picture Books

Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Paige]

This is a book i remember reading in elementary school. It is about a girl whose legs are getting too long for the old washtub they have at home. She wants a real bathtub, but her mother said they cost too much. She starts to come up with a plan to make the money. She sees a sign for free seeds, and plants them with the hope of growing cucmbers to make pickles to sell. Donna was getting tired, of not only her regular chores, but had to tend to her cucumber patch as well.. It seemed like she would never have enough money for a bathtub. The siblings sat around the table and the other decided that they would help too. They finally had enough for the bathtub. The tub was set up and the last pot of steaming water was added. Donna tested the water and found that her legs were not too long at all.

[Julivete Skelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is based on a true story. A young girl feels that she is way too big for their tub and wants her family to buy a bigger one but her family is poor and can’t afford to spend their hard earned money on a tub because they have more important things to pay for. So she tries to think of ways to make and save money to buy her family a bigger tub. This story is so much more than just making enough money to buy a tub, it teaches the value of a dollar. At the end of the book, it includes original photos and pictures of documents used when she bought the tub. This story also touches on history. She buys the tub from a Sears Catalog. The illustrations are great too. They correspond with the story very well and depict the characters closely to the photos at the end of the book.

[Tibia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little book to help teach children about gardening, and saving money. Beautiful illustrations, and a charming story. I used/read this book to teach when working with the 4H club and a school community garden. The children (ages 5 to 12) loved this book.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story about an Iowa family!

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pickle Patch Bathtub
Children's audio book about how the children have grown so much they no longer fit in the farm tub. Their dad is saving for a new tractor. Mom says no they need money for other things.
Kids go through Sears catalog and find a new tub for $9.25. They figure if they save all their money they'd have enough to buy it. They can also enter contests.
One contest is to grow pickles. Like poem for growing pickles, never heard that one! Month by month we are updated on the progress. Will they ever have enough money for the new tub. Story of why this book was written is included.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Cami · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little book based on the true experience of the author's mother.
1925: the kids in the family work to save up for a real bathtub for the family to purchase from the Sears Roebuck catalog.
Fun illustrations with a few historical photos.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a nice book showing young people setting goals, working together, and putting in effort to work for what they want. For me, the local and historical connection, including the old Keokuk Pickle Works, added to the fun of reading and sharing this book.

[Andrea Labonte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awesome book about how a family of siblings contributed to trying to buy a bathtub so they decided what they needed to do was grow cucumbers and that is they got a bathtub but read this book to find out how and how much they got for doing this. its a fun read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars is probably more like it, but I went with 4.