Overview

Fred and Helen Martini longed for a baby, and they ended up with dozens of lion and tiger cubs! Snuggle up to this purr-fect read aloud about the Bronx Zoo's first female zookeeper. When Bronx zookeeper Fred brought home a lion cub, Helen Martini instantly embraced it. The cub's mother had lost the instinct to care for him. ""Just do for him what you would do with a human baby,"" Fred suggested...and she did. Helen named him MacArthur, fed him milk from a bottle, and cooed him to sleep in a crib. Soon enough, MacArthur was not the only cub bathing in the tub! The couple continued to raise lion and tiger cubs as their own, until they were old enough to return to zoos. In time, Helen became the first female zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo, the keeper of the nursery. This is a terrific non-fiction book to read aloud while snuggling up with your cubs. Filled with adorable baby cats, Cubs in the Tub is a story of love, dedication, and a special kind of family. Gorgeously patterned illustrations by Julie Downing detail the Martinis' in-home nursery, and a warm pallet creates a cozy pairing with Candace Fleming's lovely language. At the end, find a short biography of Helen Martini and a selected bibliography. A Junior Library Guild Selection A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year Named to the Texas Topaz Reading List

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9780823443185

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Reviews

The charming saga of Helen's journey from a homemaker to a pioneering zookeeper is narrated in well-written, accessible prose. . . . Charming and adorable --School Library Journal Telling the tale with great attention to detail, Fleming perfectly captures both time and place as well as the loving, determined woman who forged her way in a man's profession. Downing's illustrations in a wide variety of sizes and hues will keep readers' attention glued to the pages and are in sync with the text in every way. . . . A lovely homage to a little-known woman and her quiet achievement. --Kirkus Reviews There's a fairy tale quality to Fleming's story of Helen Martini, a woman whose longing for a baby was filled by raising a series of orphaned big cat cubs, which unexpectedly led to her becoming the first female zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo. . . . Downing's sensitive illustrations shine in a rich, muted palette, using sweeping lines and patterned details to conjure cozy, 1940s-era domestic scenes where lions snooze on laps and tigers frolic in bubble baths. --Publishers Weekly A charming reflection of courage and change. --Booklist, Starred Review The charming saga of Helen's journey from a homemaker to a pioneering zookeeper is narrated in well-written, accessible prose. . . . Charming and adorable --School Library Journal Telling the tale with great attention to detail, Fleming perfectly captures both time and place as well as the loving, determined woman who forged her way in a man's profession. Downing's illustrations in a wide variety of sizes and hues will keep readers' attention glued to the pages and are in sync with the text in every way. . . . A lovely homage to a little-known woman and her quiet achievement. --Kirkus Reviews There's a fairy tale quality to Fleming's story of Helen Martini, a woman whose longing for a baby was filled by raising a series of orphaned big cat cubs, which unexpectedly led to her becoming the first female zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo. . . . Downing's sensitive illustrations shine in a rich, muted palette, using sweeping lines and patterned details to conjure cozy, 1940s-era domestic scenes where lions snooze on laps and tigers frolic in bubble baths. --Publishers Weekly

There's a fairy tale quality to Fleming's story of Helen Martini, a woman whose longing for a baby was filled by raising a series of orphaned big cat cubs, which unexpectedly led to her becoming the first female zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo. . . . Downing's sensitive illustrations shine in a rich, muted palette, using sweeping lines and patterned details to conjure cozy, 1940s-era domestic scenes where lions snooze on laps and tigers frolic in bubble baths. --Publishers Weekly

Author Information

Candace Fleming is the author of more than twenty distinguished books for children including The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia, winner of, among other awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Nonfiction. She received the NCTE Orbus Pictus Award and a Sibert Honor for Giant Squid. Her most recent book with Holiday House is Honeybee. She lives in Chicago. Julie Downing has illustrated over forty-five picture books including The Fire Keeper's Son, Tessa Takes Wing and First Mothers. She has won many awards including a Parents Choice Award, the New York Public Library's Best Books Award, APAAL Best Illustrated Book and the Irma Black Silver Medal. Her work has been featured in the SCBWI Original Art Show. Julie teaches illustration to undergraduate and graduate students at the Academy of Art University. She lives in San Francisco.

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