With all the potty titles out there—many with clearer presentations of the concepts or stronger storylines and...
This tall, sturdy volume of potty basics is another entry in the British Bright Start, Right Start series (First Numbers, 2014, etc.).
The text here reads like a beginner’s nonfiction title, introducing items such as diapers, underwear, toilets and training pants without much of a storyline to anchor the concepts. To begin, readers are introduced to Baby Bear: “This is Baby Bear wearing a diaper. / Baby Bear pees and poops in the diaper.” A note in small print suggests that parents replace the words “pee” and “poop” with whatever terms their family prefers. Readers then see Baby Bear wear training pants and underwear, use the potty successfully and unsuccessfully, and wash up afterward. Mommy Bear is there to help wipe Baby Bear’s bottom and flush the toilet. Unfortunately, the text doesn’t always flow smoothly at the sentence level, perhaps a result of the assiduous avoidance of gendered pronouns, and the connections between events are sometimes unclear. Further contributing to this disjointed effect are the mixed-media illustrations, which feature photographs of dressed-up teddy bears set against cartoon backgrounds, making for a busy, sometimes-dizzying blend of reality and fiction.
With all the potty titles out there—many with clearer presentations of the concepts or stronger storylines and characters—this is one to skip. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-910184-14-1
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Scribblers/Sterling
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Simple words and big concepts will make this a godsend to parents at their wit's end.
This book seeks to use the power of persuasion to vanquish that most formidable of opponents: toddlers.
In this entry in the Big Kid Power series, a little black girl makes no bones about the fact that pacifiers (or “binkies”) are strictly baby territory. When she was little she needed one, but that was then. Whether she’s tired, sad, or hungry, there are other ways of being comforted: hugs and polite requests, for instance. After she gives her binky to a baby and bids it a very clear goodbye, the book ends with a triumphant, “I’M A BIG KID!” Using a striking color combination of orange, brown, and black, van Lieshout keeps her pages bold and bright, complementing the simple vocabulary. Such declarations as, “Do I still have a binky? // NO, BIG KIDS DON’T NEED A BINKY. / NOPE!” leave scant wiggle room for argument. In her author’s note at the end, van Lieshout says that after speaking to many parents about how they helped their kids bid their pacifiers adieu, “many of them had in common…a ritual of some sort.” The ritual here seems to be giving the pacifier away, though it may be missed by many readers. Companion title I Use the Potty uses a similar approach, with a proud, white boy as its guide.
Simple words and big concepts will make this a godsend to parents at their wit's end. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4521-3536-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not a standout, but it’s potentially useful for allaying the anxieties of wee ones ready to make what can be a scary leap...
A primer for little boys transitioning from their own potties to the toilet.
Jack is a cute, bespectacled tot wearing a large pirate hat featuring a skull and crossbones. He is busy playing with his teddy bear (which sports a bandanna and eye patch) when Daddy announces that it’s time to potty. But Jack has decided that he’s ready to give up the little potty and use the toilet like his father. Capt. Jack climbs aboard “his ship,” pees into the bowl, sits down and “does a poo,” flushes the toilet and then washes his hands. Proud Jack “takes a bow” while “Daddy claps and cheers,” proclaiming Jack “Captain of the Toilet!” Jack makes it look really easy, which may intimidate little ones, but they will probably be too busy repeatedly generating flushing sounds by pushing the book’s big blue button to notice. A companion title, Queen of the Toilet (978-0-7641-6659-4), stars a little girl. It follows the pattern of Jack’s story, except no child’s potty is pictured or mentioned. Bella seems to go directly from diapers to toilet, though the back cover indicates that this title, too, is intended for those transitioning from a child’s potty.
Not a standout, but it’s potentially useful for allaying the anxieties of wee ones ready to make what can be a scary leap from child’s potty to toilet. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7641-6658-7
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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