A spirited chronicle of the West's ambivalent relationship with dirt The question of cleanliness is one every age and culture has answered with confidence. For the first-century Roman, being clean meant a two-hour soak in baths of various temperatures, scraping the body with a miniature rake, and a final application of oil. For the aristocratic Frenchman in the seventeenth century, it meant changing your shirt once a day and perhaps going so far...

A little boy describes the safety precautions he observes whenever he takes a bath. On board pages.

"I take a bath. I wash myself with my washcloth, and Mom washes my hair. I play some more, and then I wrap my soft, warm towel around me! Next, I put on my pajamas. I drink my bottle of milk and read my book. I go to sleep with my sweet teddy bear! A cheerful book full of recognizable illustrations of bathtime and bedtime rituals. For toddlers ages 12 months and up, with a focus on the child's daily life."--