WHEN YOU GOTTA GO!
by William Tellem illustrated by Debi Coules
Family members find relief in the bathroom in this humorous children’s picture book.
Mr. Jones is a writer, Mrs. Jones is a surgeon, and young Priscilla Jones reads and plays with dolls. But at some point, every Jones is taken over by “that feeling,” an urgent sensation that means one thing: “GOTTA GO!” With one destination in mind—the bathroom—Mr. Jones jumps up from his reading chair, Mrs. Jones ducks out during an operation, and Priscilla drops everything, whether she’s at home or at school. Bystanders comment “When you gotta go, you gotta go!” Each Jones is reminded not to look into the toilet, although it’s tempting: “we know you want to see what gave you that feeling!” (Priscilla, though, gets permission to look.) A family portrait shows everyone smiling with relief from “that empty feeling!” Tellem (Krazy Kathleen, 2016, etc.) offers enough humor to engage kids, who may benefit from the acknowledgment that everyone needs to use the toilet, even when they’re busy, and may be curious about the results. A reminder that it feels good afterward will encourage the bathroom-shy. Coules’ (Krazy Kathleen, 2016, etc.) expressive illustrations with well-observed details (nothing too gross) nicely capture the Caucasian family’s desperation and add humor, as when Mr. Jones wears a gas mask to escape terrible fumes.
Entertaining and reassuring.