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msgabbythelibrarian's review
3.0
Oh boy, if the Idaho Legislature got their hands on this book.....with its drawings of nude women (complete with nipples and pubic hair)
Guess what, I'm sure this is what Japanese bath houses (or any communal place) is like. So it's fine!
Guess what, I'm sure this is what Japanese bath houses (or any communal place) is like. So it's fine!
dawnoftheread's review
5.0
Naked lady spa day! Someone will definitely complain. But it is lovely and natural and healthy, imho.
pib003's review
5.0
What a cozy, sweet book. I would love to read this in storytime someday, but I think the grown-ups would have my head.
bluenicorn's review
4.0
I really liked this. It's basically depicting a childhood memory of the author, so it's sweet and celebrating family, but in a way that also casually embraces body positivity. All of the women and children in the book are nude for most of it, but that's because they're in the big bath house. The tone is in no way prurient; the casual nudity really brings home how western society conditions us to feel shame and self-consciousness about our bodies. These are just family members catching up and relaxing, without the shape or size or condition of their bodies having anything to do with anything. That's a pretty great message to me.
heisereads's review
4.0
While I appreciate this book for the beauty of the memoir and experience with family in Japan, I just can't put it in my school libraries because of the nudity, even though the author's note makes clear normalizing this is part of her purpose.
abigailbat's review
This gentle picture book about a young girl attending a Japanese bath house with her family shows acceptance of all kinds of bodies and a ritual shared between family members to grow bonds beyond language.
elizabethlk's review
4.0
The Big Bath House is adorably told and adorably illustrated. We get a very sweet story about a young girl enjoying time with her grandmother and extended family, we get to explore the Japanese bath house tradition, and we get to explore bodies and nakedness. It's very sweet and cute and goes a long way towards normalising bodies. Recommended!
mohawkm's review
relaxing
4.0
Lifting this phrase from another review, because I agree: "a terrific celebration of body types of all ages."