The Dirty Little Boy by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Steven Salerno is a wonderful book.  It is the story of a little boy who is so dirty that he actually asks his mother for a bath.  She is busy doing white laundry in her washtub, so she tells him to go learn from the animals how to take a bath.  So he tries to bathe the way that birds, pigs, cats and horses do.  But he just gets dirtier and dirtier.  Finally, he returns to his mother, who promptly puts him in the washtub and gets him shiny clean.

The book takes traditional storytelling techniques and combines them with modern illustrations that retain a retro feel.  It is a perfect readaloud with its rhythmic language and repetition.  The writing is witty and fun, with a real child-friendly topic.  Just a joy to have discovered and to have read. 

Published in 2001, it was just released in paperback in October.