This book is part of the Splat the Cat series. In this book, Splat begins his day very grumbly and does not want a bath and is not looking forward to swimming at school. He's convinced it's going to be an awful day. But things turn around when Splat tries going in the water and discovers he likes it! Things get even better when his friend Spike comes over for a play date afterward. This is a fun picture book with good alliteration and illustrations. Grades K-2 will enjoy the continued adventures of Splat. It's also a good opening for discussion of trying new things. ( )

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. ( )

I liked this book because it really related to real childhood experiences. From dreaming of "candy fish" (I dream of swedish fish ahaha), to being picked on by others, this black cat overcomes it all. Through the writing flow, it keeps the children engaged in the story and the point of view is the same as those of a child. The illustrations were so cute and perfect for the reading level. The book pushes the reader to think deeper into bullying and not having enough money. The main idea I think is overcoming fears. He overcomes his fear of the water, and he overcomes his fear of Spike coming over and breaking his toys(not his real fear, but still). ( )

Splat does not want to have a playdate with Spike or learn how to swim, but when all their classmates rush to the pool, Splat and Spike learn they have something in common.

This book is about Splat and Spike the cats who have to take swimming lessons at school but are both scared of water and have to overcome their fears. I liked this book because the pictures were animated which was very cool and because it showed the story of two friends who overcame their fear of water together. ( )