Splish, Splash, Splat!

Written by Rob Scotton

Narrated by Dan Bittner

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?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 17, 2012
• ISBN: 9780062218223

Rob Scotton

Rob Scotton is the bestselling author and illustrator of Russell the Sheep; Russell and the Lost Treasure; Russell’s Christmas Magic; Splat the Cat; Love, Splat; Merry Christmas, Splat; and Scaredy-Cat, Splat! His 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. You can visit Rob Scotton online at robscotton.com.

Reviews for Splish, Splash, Splat!

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Impulse grab at the library. I'd forgotten that I'm actually not a Splat fan. Mildly funny in bits, like early on when he tries to avoid a bath and his mom dryly says I think you missed a bit." (get it? cuz he's dry?) But hopefully I'll remember not to waste my time with any others in the series."

[1avidfan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute illustrations.

[missbrandysue · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Splat does not like getting into the water, especially for his baths. So when his mom tells him not only that his annoying friend Spike is coming over, but that he has swimming lessons, he gets a bit upset. But his friend Spike finally gets into the water so Splat makes himelf get in. Once he gets into the pool he finds that he loves swimming. A cute book for young children who maybe are taking swimming lessons as well. Good for quotation marks too and there are many (5?) Splat books in the series.

[jstein31 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this book for many reasons. For one, I loved the language in this story. The author utilizes literary techniques such as alliteration in order to set a humorous tone, enticing the readers. For example, in the story, the narrator says, “‘spike spike spike’ spluttered Splat.” By strategically placing alliteration in this part of the story, the author produces a humorous tone for the story, entertaining the readers and engaging them to read more. Another feature of the book that I loved was the illustrations. In this story, the illustrations really captured the humorous tone of the story. The exaggeration of the facial expressions on the main character Splat and other characters created a humorous tone, entertaining the readers and providing enjoyment for them while reading. Also, the exaggerations and detail on the characters’ faces gave more human-like characteristics to the cats, causing them to be more relatable to the readers. In addition, they allowed the readers to empathize with the characters and become more emotionally invested in the characters. The main idea of this story is that you may never know what people are really like so it is important to get to know everyone and see things from their perspectives.

[mkaray1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Summary:A mother cat tells her son, Splat, thing he is going to have a playdate and has his first swimming lesson that day. Splat does not want to have a playdate with one of his cat classmates, Spike, because Spike will destroy all his toys and eat all of his candy fish. Splat is also scared to swim, because "water is horrible, scary, and wet!" When it is time for swim practice, all of the cats eagerly jump into the pool leaving Slat and Spike behind. Both cats realize they are similar and both scared to go in the water. Once spike noticed a candy fish, he jumps into the water to get it, and then Splat realizes that if Spike can do it, he can too. Later at their playdate, Spike surprised Splat with a present; Spike gives Splat a pair of swimming trunks, since he didn't have any more swim practice. The central message is that it's possible to overcome your fears, especially when you have a friend by your side. This book teaches children how to be supportive of each other. I really enjoyed the illustrations in this book, because the cats' expressions were easily readable. As I read the story, I could visually see when the cats were scared, and when they were happy about being in the pool. For instance, when they were scared, the illustrator drew big eyes on the cats with no smile, and when they were happy, he drew a big smile, showing the cats' teeth. I like the addition of Splat's little mouse friend named Seymour, because typically cats are not fond of mice. There are a few friendships demonstrated in this story, which I like because sometimes kids tend to navigate toward one friend, although they should know to be supportive of all their classmates.

[rayjones63 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Splat is not having a good day. First, his mom wakes him up in the middle of a candy fish dream. Then she tells him that his arch-nemesis Spike is coming over after school. Oh, and swim lessons start today. But as almost any cat will tell you, water is horrible and scary and wet. The day keeps getting worse and worse. Splat learns a few lessons along the way and finds some surprises too.

[jodieasley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This inventive story addresses a common issue that teachers and students witness on a daily basis, bullying. Students can learn with this book what it means to be the "bigger person" and to offer friendship to those who have differences. I also found the main character,Splat, to have courage in befriending his counterpart that often stole or broke his things and ate his delicious treats. This story can be used to address an issue that you have been having in your classroom or maybe even to prevent an issue from arising.

[melodyreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There might be others uncomfortable with getting into water ... Splat found out.