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above: scene with the little boy and his big, loving mama -busy with her laundry chores.
The Dirty Little Boy -written by Margaret Wise Brown & illustrated by Steven Salerno published by Winslow Press, 2001.
A small boy is instructed by his too busy mother to go outside and watch how the animals each take a bath to get clean. He follows orders, but manages to become so dirty in the process that in the end Mama must give him a bath, too.
NOTE: famed author of Goodnight Moon originally wrote this story for Jack & Jill magazine in 1939 -under the title, How the Animals Took a Bath. For this picture book edition it was renamed The Dirty Little Boy in cooperation with the Margaret Wise Brown Estate.
"The simple, amusing story is a showcase for the large, vibrant illustrations that are both humorous and tender" -Children's Literature
“The stylized characters contribute to the retro look, and the playful use of line and scale give them a larger-than-life quality. A selection that is bound to make a splash at story hour” -School Library Journal
“Not since Harry the Dirty Dog (1956) has the twin adventure of getting grimy, then scrubbing it all off, been better captured” -Kirkus Reviews
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above: cropped view of the cover for The Dirty Little Boy.
see Steven’s complete list of published picture books to date
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above: the boy stops to watch how a bird takes a bath in a rain puddle along the road.
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above: detailed cropped view of a page from the printed book... with the boy seeing that Mama is busy doing laundry. (note: the torn paper edge is part of the printed illustration)
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above: preliminary SKETCH: the boy gets very dirty playing outside and asks his busy Mama for a bath...
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above: the young boy watches how a horse gets his coat brushed clean. So, he tries brushing his own dirty skin with the same stiff horse brush but only manages to scratch himself!
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above: detailed cropped view of the title page of The Dirty Little Boy.