To find this wrong in a young child's book - particularly in a Bookstart book?

[PrettyCandles]

'bath' rhymed with 'laugh'.

[fingernails on blackboard icon]

actually it's the crap scanning that bothers me more, since it's hard to get a nice reading rhythm going.....

Of course, poetry doesn't have to rhyme! We're just talking about stuff that's meant to rhyme, but then does it badly.

MilaMae: "poorly written books with rigid rhyme which don't encourage kids to play with language"

Amen to that!

So what is meant to rhyme, if poetry doesn't have to?

Verse.

There is a different vowel sound in 'bath' and 'laugh'? No there isn't! It's either ar (southern) or a (northern). Absolutely the same.

Re. rhymes with bath... I refer you to my [ahem] work of literature, below.

As well as Cath/Kath and path, I also thought of math (but you'd have to be American to get away with that, which may well be more unasseptable than being from sarf London), hath (if thou adoptest the Shakespearean styleee). There is also wrath, but I'd pronounce that 'roth', so probably doesn't count.

Incidentally, it's irrelevant whether you are from the north or the south, as long as you are consistent. So, if you say 'barth', you probably also say 'parth' and call yourself 'Carth', but if you are from God's own county then 'bath' will rhyme with 'path' and 'Cath'.

However, in considering this thread I have discovered that I have inconsistent pronunciation. I say 'parth' but 'bath'??? Am I a linguistic Frankenstein? Grew up in the South West (where pronunciation is somewhere between the two extremes), lived for a long time in the South East (where I somehow managed to adopt something vaguely approaching RP) and now live in GOC and find my vowels 'going a bit funny'?????

Well, in my speech and in some accents they're a bit different but I admit not very.

Tis still crap though.

I still think that the design and graphics in a baby book are more important than subtelties of the language. And that the words have to be simple one or two syllable ones. But I'm no expert, and I agree totally snowleopard that I'm not sure TS Eliot would have used them together (but that's probably just because he was posh).
Asking a stressed-out parent to read a book that "grates" is probably not the best way to encourage children into good speech, language and literature.

as I said earlier - go get a life (in a very broad Northern accent)

Bad scanning drives me nuts too.

DD had a book called 'The Skipping Rope Snake' which couldn't decide whether it was prose or verse. Horrid!

But this book doesn't appear to grate with everyone. If it grates with you, give it to a charity shop, don't berate Bookstart.

Good god, its a childrens book, what book is it? If it is bookstart it must be for a youngster, does it matter??? Besides, its poetic license (yeah i know i cant spell)

its my dds most fav book 'who's that splashing in the bath' next page 'peepo duck! You make me laugh!' It make her laugh out loud she has loved it for months.its a book for babies

Oh QUofQU...Grarse and arse made me lol....

As resident posh girl I must say you are all wrong.

One would never mention ones ablutions in public, let alone compare them in a risory fashion to expressing amusement.

Also ducks are not that funny.

I pronounce bath and laugh as barth and larff - so what's the problem ?

sorry they rhyme to me (but I'm a NZ'er). I just can't get what they're meant to sound like (for all you posh people).

pssssst wmmc - risible?

you're all too posh for free books...

It's the final sound that has got people worked up - 'th' and 'f' - not the central vowel sound. It's all very, very silly. And as someone says, if you are going to carp about it, give the bloody books back and let them give them to someone who can't afford books.

I agree it doesn't rhyme but I think the worse thing in that book is the 't' in 'tuck you up tight' looks a bit like an 'f'. It gets me every time

so far i have only read the OP but from where i am BATH does rhyme with LAUGH and it was nice to see it for a change!!!

get him an oxford dictionary, just incase he queries it