"A tender story...This book is an affirmation of a common bedtime ritual for many children. It also provides a model to parents who have not adopted this habit...The text is poetic and the collage illustrations are clean and attractive...I recommend Once Upon a Bathtime for purchase by public libraries, preschools, and daycares."

"This picture book is told in simple, elegant verse and illustrated with paper-cut collage artwork...The illustrations are lively and playful as well, with the figures varying in size and scale from page to page. Nothing is exact or consistent, giving the art a naïve, folk-art look and feel. This lovely book may be best suited for one-on-one sharing and close inspection. Many children will relate to these bath rituals and want to share their thoughts while reading."

"Hughes weaves the familiar language of fairy tales with parents' care in a serene, comfortable poem in which repetition stresses affection…[A] child-like simplicity suffuses both art and text."