Cubs in the Tub: The True Story of the Bronx Zoo's First Woman Zookeeper

by Candace Fleming, Julie Downing (Illustrator)

Overview

Fred and Helen Martini longed for a baby, and they ended up with dozens of lion and tiger cubs! Snuggle up to this purr-fect read aloud about the Bronx Zoo's first female zookeeper.

When Bronx Zookeeper Fred brings home a lion cub whose mother lost the instinct to care for him, Helen Martini instantly embraces it. "Just do for him what you would do with a human baby," Fred suggests...and she does. Helen names him MacArthur, feeds him milk from a bottle, and coos him to sleep in a crib.

Soon, MacArthur isn't the only cub bathing in the Martini's tub! The couple continues to raise lion and tiger cubs as their own, until they are old enough to return to zoos. Helen becomes the first female zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo, the keeper of the nursery.

Cubs in the Tub is a terrific non-fiction book to read aloud while snuggling up with your cubs. Filled with adorable baby big cats, this is a story about love, dedication, and a new kind of family.

Gorgeously patterned illustrations by Julie Downing detail the in-home nursery, and a warm pallet creates a cozy pairing with Candace Fleming's lovely language.

Backmatter includes a short biography of Helen Martini and a selected bibliography.

A Junior Library Guild Selection
A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year
Named to the Texas Topaz Reading List

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823461677
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/16/2025
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.53(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.15(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Candace Fleming is the author of more than twenty distinguished books for children including The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia, winner of, among other awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Nonfiction. She received the NCTE Orbus Pictus Award and a Sibert Honor for Giant Squid. Her most recent book with Holiday House is Honeybee. She lives in Chicago.

Julie Downing has illustrated over forty-five picture books including The Fire Keeper's Son, Tessa Takes Wing and First Mothers. She has won many awards including a Parents Choice Award, the New York Public Library's Best Books Award, APAAL Best Illustrated Book and the Irma Black Silver Medal. Her work has been featured in the SCBWI Original Art Show. Julie teaches illustration to undergraduate and graduate students at the Academy of Art University. She lives in San Francisco.

Editorial Reviews

★ "A charming reflection of courage and change."—Booklist, Starred Review

★ "Warm, retro cartoon art captures all the adorable and humorous antics of baby animals as Helen undertakes fostering first the lion cub and then, later, four tiger cubs. The art makes it easy to forget the wild nature of these giant cats who like to snuggle and sit in laps, and the interplay between the pictures and the lively text creates a heartwarming and upbeat atmosphere."—The Horn Book, Starred Review

"The charming saga of Helen’s journey from a homemaker to a pioneering zookeeper is narrated in well-written, accessible prose. . . . Charming and adorable"—School Library Journal

"The account of romping around an apartment with adorable and affectionate baby big cats will make young audiences purr with joy (and a little envy). Line and watercolor art is cuddly and cozy, with drab wartime colors and lots of period hats in the crowds; the illustrations give the animals plenty of cuteness without overdoing it, keeping Helen Martini’s role front and center."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Telling the tale with great attention to detail, Fleming perfectly captures both time and place as well as the loving, determined woman who forged her way in a man’s profession. Downing’s illustrations in a wide variety of sizes and hues will keep readers’ attention glued to the pages and are in sync with the text in every way. . . . A lovely homage to a little-known woman and her quiet achievement."—Kirkus Reviews

"There's a fairy tale quality to Fleming's story of Helen Martini, a woman whose longing for a baby was filled by raising a series of orphaned big cat cubs, which unexpectedly led to her becoming the first female zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo. . . . Downing’s sensitive illustrations shine in a rich, muted palette, using sweeping lines and patterned details to conjure cozy, 1940s-era domestic scenes where lions snooze on laps and tigers frolic in bubble baths." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2020-06-03
In the 1940s, Fred Martini, a zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo, brought a newborn lion cub home to his wife.

The cub had been rejected by its mother and desperately needed care. Though childless, Helen was well prepared with baby supplies on hand. She bathed it, fed it baby formula, and sang it to sleep. MacArthur became a loving, playful, cuddly pet until he was placed in another zoo. It was lonely without him until Fred brought home three baby tigers, and the joyful process began again. When it was time to return these babies to the zoo, Helen went with them. She created a cozy space in a glass cage where visitors could see them. She expanded her work by establishing a nursery in an unused storeroom, painting and decorating, curtains and all, where the tiger cubs could sleep at night. When zoo officials finally discovered her, they realized the value of what she had accomplished and offered her a permanent, paid position as the first woman zookeeper, caring for many species of animal babies. Telling the tale with great attention to detail, Fleming perfectly captures both time and place as well as the loving, determined woman who forged her way in a man’s profession. Downing’s illustrations in a wide variety of sizes and hues will keep readers’ attention glued to the pages and are in sync with the text in every way. The Martinis present white, and the animals are cuddly and packed with personality.

A lovely homage to a little-known woman and her quiet achievement. (afterword, bibliography, source notes) (Picture book/biography. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews