Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine

Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine by Gloria Whelan and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

Three paw prints.  What would you do if you loved to swim, but no one was supposed to see you in a bathing suit?  Well, this was the problem for Queen Victoria.  During the 1800s women, especially the Queen of England, were expected to be very proper in their looks and their behaviors.  It would have been very inappropriate for any woman to be seen wearing a bathing suit.  But, Queen Victoria loved to swim.  Luckily for her she had her own knight (err, prince) in shining armor to help with this problem.  This book was very interesting.  I had no idea that a woman going for an afternoon swim could be such a challenge.  I only had one problem.  This book tries to tell the story through rhyme.  I usually love a good rhyming book, but unfortunately these rhymes weren't very good.  Most of the time the rhymes felt and sounded forced.  It was not comfortable to read this book.  To learn more about Queen Victoria's bathing machine visit, http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/osborne/beach/queen-victoria.

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