The Day My Butt Went Psycho (Andy Griffiths' Butt) [Paperback]

Andy Griffiths (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003 | Age Range: 8 and up | Series: Andy Griffiths' Butt | Lexile Measure: 600L (What's this?)

A story that you and your butt will never forget!
Join Zack on his epic journey across the Great Windy Desert and through the Brown Forest, to reclaim his runaway butt.
(Based on a true story.)

Zack Freeman is ready to tell his story...the story of a brave young boy and his crazy runaway butt. The story of a crack butt-fighting unit called the B-team, a legendary Butt Hunter's formidable daghter, and some of the ugliest and meanest butts ever to roam the face of the Earth. A story of endurance that takes Zack on an epic journey across the Great Windy Desert, through the Brown Forest, and over the Sea of Butts before descending into the heart of an explosive buttcano to confront the biggest, ugliest, and meanest butt of them all!

It's a story you and your butt will never forget!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

While wisely rated G for Gross ("Contains immature material not suitable for adults"), Andy Griffiths' very funny debut novel will almost certainly blow away--perhaps literally, stinkingly--anyone of any age who's ever suspected that their backside might be up to something.

Translated from the Australian (sold Down Under as "The Day My Bum Went Psycho"), this adventure begins with the nighttime flight of our 12-year-old protagonist Zach's pale little heinie and doesn't let up for over 200 pages--most of which are filled almost exclusively with the word "butt." At first, Zach believes his butt might be leading some sort of minor butt rebellion, but the plot quickly thickens to include a global army of feral butts, the "greatest buttcano in the history of the world," and a head-butt "rearrangement" conspiracy that goes all the way to the... um, bottom. Our well-meaning but naive hero Zach soon gets mixed up with the butt-fighting "B-team" (the Kicker, the Kisser, and the Smacker, who all "love the smell of freshly smacked butt in the morning!"), fires his very first 4502-LL ("The LL stood for Laxative Launcher"), learns how to "butt-hop" ("The average butt has enough gas to propel itself and a rider for twenty minutes...."), and goes on a long, wild chase involving cluster butts, buttcatchers, kamikaze butts, stinkants, and even the fearsome Stenchgantor, "the Great Unwiped Butt." (And that's not even counting all those seagoing butt piranhas and poopoises.)

Griffiths surely likes the cheap laughs and doesn't miss a single opportunity for buttly wordplay (from "high-frequency emissions" to the smell-ranking "Rectum scale"), but that doesn't make The Day My Butt Went Psycho any less clever--the fast-moving plot has as many double-crosses as double entendres, and Griffiths weaves in some pretty brilliant ideas. Who knew you could have a death throe scene between a butt and its owner? Also includes a snarky butt glossary in the book's... uh, rear. (Ages 9 to 12) --Paul Hughes

Review

Griffith's fun gross-out adventure novel follows Zack Freeman, who awakens to see his rear end leaping out the window to lead a bum rally. Zack's butt urges bums to "assume our rightful positions on top of the neck." Zack searches for the "one person who can stop [the plan]," the Bum Hunter, and in the process meets up with legendary bum fighters like the Kisser and the Smacker-plus the Bum Hunter's tough daughter, Eleanor. As the team tries to stop the bums from erupting a disgusting bumcano (hint: it's not filled with lava), they encounter a stink tornado, swimming poopoises, the Stenchgantor, "also known as the Great Unwiped Butt"-and a traitor in their midst. Though Zack finally tells his bum, "Well, maybe if I'd taken better care of you... you might not have gone psycho in the first place," kids will gleefully discover there's no great lesson learned here. Some of Griffith's details are hilarious (a fluffy pink toilet seat cover is the perfect tool for trapping bums, who "are powerless to resist them"), others plain disgusting (Zack and Eleanor hitch a ride on an exploding bum pimple), but young readers will likely get a kick out of it all (there's even a glossary included). Ages 9-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

---Publishers Weekly, March 31st, 2003

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439424690
• ISBN-13: 978-0439424691
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andy Griffiths is an internationally successful children's author and the award-winning writer of the JUST series and the BUM trilogy. His books have been bestsellers in both his native Australia and the USA. Andy thrives on having an audience; he has been a teacher, the lead singer in a rock band and a stand-up comedian. He lives in Smellbourne, I mean Melbourne, Australia, with his partner and two daughters. Other books by Andy Griffiths to look out for: THE DAY MY BUM WENT PSYCHO, ZOMBIE BUMS FROM URANUS, BUMAGEDDON, JUST ANNOYING, JUST CRAZY, JUST DISGUSTING, JUST KIDDING, JUST STUPID. Terry Denton is well-known for his work with Andy Griffiths on several titles, including the JUST books. He is also an author and illustrator in his own right and extremely popular with audiences in Australia and the US.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love It or Hate It, This Book Is About Butts. March 29, 2006

By Bart King

Format:Paperback

It's interesting to look through the reader reviews for this book; I don't know that I've ever seen a book veer as wildly between 1 and 5 star reviews. The lower ratings often express dismay and outrage at the book's subject matter, which, given its title, may strike one as a bit silly.

"This book is about butts? What trash!"

Not only is this Australian book about butts (the title originally used "bum"), but the word "butt" is in virtually every sentence. If you or yours enjoy scatological Aussie humor, you'll love this. As a middle school teacher, I've seen this book in so many hands, I felt obligated to read it. I may have regretted my decision when the book's main character and his pal ride an exploding butt pimple, but I stuck in there.

So to summarize: The Day My Butt Went Psycho is funny, and it's about butts. Be warned.

Also recommended: The Big Book of Boy Stuff

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars All I can say is my 8y.o. son loves it... January 26, 2006

By M. L. MacInerney

Format:Paperback

My 8 y.o. son is not a big reader and trying to find books he actually wants to read is hard. Like a lot of boys his age he is (unfortunately) obsessed w/potty humor. I saw this book and knew he'd like it. Understatement. He can't wait to read it b/f bed and I've found him reading it on his own during the day. It's full of butt-humor that boys his age find hysterical. Went ahead and ordered the others in the series as well. One good thing seems to be that reading about it seems to have cut down on his need to potty talk all the time. Being a good reader is instrumental in their future academic success so I get him whatever will hold his interest. He finds the Frannie K. Stein books entertaining as well.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is one of the Funniest Books EVER! April 5, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I'm 25 years old. I have a BA in Psychology. And I still think that this is the funniest book in the world. I picked it up in the bookstore and lost complete control after I read the first few pages and couldn't stop laughing out loud.
I work with 4th graders and I can't wait to bring this into the classroom. It's good to see a book that kids are going to love to read because it's so funny.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Butt kicking is all the rage!!!! May 6, 2005

By Willaim M. Luconti

Format:Paperback

This book is just plain funny!

For those who have wrote reviews about this book and were offended by the word "BUTT" throughout the story, all I can say is "What did you expect?" Yes this book deals with words like butt, fart and the great white butt along with a host of too many to mention. But if you have a open mind and aren't bothered by a little off beat, non-offending humor, then it's sure to please. If you like Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" then you're going to love this book too. I read it to my eight year old son when I put him to bed at night, and he complained every time when I told him it was time to go sleep. He enjoyed it so much, that he re-read the book himself, over the summer months.

The sequel is no where near as well thought out as "Psycho," but it's a funny read too. So are all of the other Andy Griffiths books.

If you take the time to look beyond the so called "non-appropriate humor" some reviewers have refered to, you'll find yourself laughing throughout this read.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll laugh your butt off ! December 15, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I have a 6 year old son, and from experience I found that the imagination, attention and humor levels that little boys posses make it more difficult to find books of interest, especially when they'd rather be playing outside,or putting whoopie cushions under Dad's seat. I stumbled across this book at a book store and before I could finish reading the back cover, my son had grabbed it out of my hand (after seeing the word BUTT ) and began reading it himself. The "rated G for Gross" grabbed him right away. Immediately he tore into the first page and was hooked. It's a little above his reading level, but because he's so interested in the story it's encouraged him to really work on his reading skills.
My entire family works in the education business, and we recently had a family gathering at which time my son pulled out his "Butt" book, and after a few minutes the whole family was in HYSTERICS ! It became an evening of passing around the book and taking turns reading chapters. The silly nature of this book doesn't stop after the first page like other books we've tried. I look forward to buying many more books from this author. I highly recommend this book, you'll laugh your Butt off !

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sure to become a butt classic June 22, 2004

By magellan HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

This book from Australian author Andy Griffiths (of Zombie Butts from Uranus fame) just goes to show you how far things have come in the young reader genre since I was a kid 40 years ago. Back then it was more like Tom Swift, the Hardy Boys, Dr. Suess, and Dr. Doolittle. But there wasn't anything as raucous and outrageous as this funny, farcical story about wayward butts and their butt-shenanigans from Griffiths.

The story follows 12-year old Zack, who discovers one night his butt can detach itself and go wandering around the town at night on its stumpy little legs, hanging out with other wayward butts and getting into trouble such as mooning passersby and causing accidents, and perpetrating other butt pranks. Zack has to bring back his butt before it gets into more trouble and the judge throws his butt in the slammer. This is only the tip of the iceberg, however, and Zack soon discovers that there is a widespread butt conspiracy that threatens the peace and tranquility of the entire town and that must be stopped no matter what the cost.

Griffiths never misses an opportunity to use every bit of butt wordplay or gag he can throw in, which is a big part of the book's fun and humor. For example, you'll meet cluster butts, kamikaze butts, stinkants, buttcatchers, and even the fearsome Stenchgantor, "the Great Unwiped Butt," who lives in the Brown Forest--which used to be the Great Black Forest before he arrived and polluted it with his--shall we say, gaseous and foul emissions. A great world-wide army of feral butts is forming, "the greatest buttcano in the history of the world." Zack joins the butt-bashing and butt-busting B-Team (Butt Team) that includes the Kicker, the Kisser, and the Smacker, who all "...love the smell of freshly smacked butt in the morning...." Zack is armed with a fearsome butt-busting weapon, the 4502-LL ("Laxative Launcher"). As if that weren't enough, there are also Butt-piranhas, poopoises, and Butt-sirens, and the Great White Butt, who has never been defeated.

That's just a few of the butt-based ideas and gags. A bit of a low-brow mindset and wit will help you to get the maximum laughs out this book of bawdy butt badinage and butt hijinks--as long as you don't turn into a real buttinsky yourself.* :-)

*Sorry, I couldn't resist. "Badinage" means light, playful banter. Read more ›