Potty Animals: What to Know When You've Gotta Go! [Hardcover]

Hope Vestergaard (Author), Valeria Petrone (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2010 | Age Range: 4 and up | Lexile Measure: 550L (What's this?)

Meet Wilbur, who won't wash his hands after going potty. Wilma, who waits too long...and sometimes doesn't make it in time. And Freddie, who's afraid to flush. These are just a few of the preschool animals who need a little help with their bathroom etiquette!

With wit and good humor, Hope Vestergaard presents a unique "toilet basics" guide for toddlers. It covers everything from lifting the seat and closing the door to planning ahead when you're on a trip. All told in cheerful rhyme, with hilarious illustrations, it's a fun way to handle a serious subject.

PLAN AHEAD! DON'T WAIT TOO LONG! GO POTTY BEFORE YOU SLEEP! EXCUSE YOURSELF! KNOCK FIRST! BE SURE TO LIFT UP THE SEAT!

CLOSE THE DOOR! DON'T LOLLYGAG! NEVER FORGET TO WIPE!

WASH YOUR HANDS! ZIP AND FLUSH! ALWAYS TURN OUT THE LIGHT!

Book Details:

• Format: Hardcover
• Publication Date: 3/2/2010
• Pages: 32
• Reading Level: Age 3 and Up

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-K—"Most critters are quite tidy:/a clean and pleasant lot./But now and then you'll meet a few/young beasties who are not." So begins this humorous guide that addresses checking one's zipper, washing hands with soap, lifting the toilet seat, and remembering to flush. All of these rules are taught in a preschool setting, with animal characters. The rhyming text is humorous without being silly, and gives some important instruction. At the end of each description of a given problem, there is a reminder of the correct behavior in a larger font ("Stanley, use the toilet!"). There isn't really a gross-out factor with this book—all of the behaviors and descriptions are appropriate for the audience. The funny situations will make for uproarious reading. The animal characters are endearing and friendly, with slightly exaggerated tails, ears, and noses. Potty Animals is a practical yet fun addition.—Susan E. Murray, Glendale Public Library, AZ
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Kids will learn the rules of toilet training in this cheerful, rhyming picture book that introduces a cast of “young beasties” who make mistakes in their preschool’s potty until they realize how to handle all the aspects of hygiene, cleanliness, privacy, and finishing up (“flush and zip”).Wilma tends to wait too long before she goes to the potty, and sometimes she is too late. Freddie is afraid to flush, so he acts like he forgets. Helga reads and dreams on the toilet while a line of kids wait to use it. In the schoolyard, Arnold is great at shooting the ball in the net, but when it is time to go to the bathroom, he isn’t always accurate; he hits the lid, then the floor: “Yuck! Lift the seat.” Benji, who tends to barge in on others, learns his lesson when someone does the same to him: “Knock first!” Never intimidating, this informative, fun title, illustrated in smooth, candy-colored artwork, shows that everyone can mess up, get over it, and learn to change. Preschool. --Hazel Rochman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (March 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402759967
• ISBN-13: 978-1402759963
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 16 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Health > Toilet Training

More About the Author

As a kid, I was a book fiend. I read anything and everything I could get my hands on, including encyclopedias, cereal boxes, and "grown-up" books. I lived at the library, checking out the maximum number of books allowed each week and blasting through the summer reading programs. When I exhausted the youth and young adult departments at the library, I walked to the flagship Borders store and read new books, cover-to-cover, in one sitting. (I was gentle, I promise. And all the books I buy now more than make up for my childhood borrowing!)

When I was eight or nine, I wrote this sentence in my journal: When I read a good book I feel like I'm hiding inside it, watching the story happen around me. This is still true today. When I read a great book, I fall right in and I'm oblivious to everything else.

When I was in college, Jane Yolen, Patricia MacLachlan and Jane Dyer visited my Children's Lit class. I distinctly remember thinking, "That's a cool job!" But it didn't occur to me that it could be my job. I was planning to be a psychologist or teacher. I taught in early childhood programs for many years before I considered writing my own stories. After reading hundreds of books to young kids, I was fascinated by their responses to different books. Why did they love books I hated? Why didn't they love books I loved? What made a good book good? Eventually I started putting my own words to paper, and later, that led me here.

It's actually a little odd writing this biography. As a writer, I'm always looking for ways to improve my craft and better understand the writing process, so I'm intrigued by the personal backgrounds of my favorite authors. But as a reader, I prefer not to be aware of the writer at all. I just want to fall into books, and I don't blame anyone else who feels the same way. I hope readers fall into mine.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly Funny! March 14, 2010

By Jennifer Bogart TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Congratulations, you've successfully potty-trained your child! They can run to the potty, pull down their pants and do their thing. However, just maybe, there is some fine-tuning that needs to take place. Maybe your child is afraid to flush, doesn't wipe or wash heir hands, leaves the door open, or a multitude of other pottying misdemeanors. What to do? Your shelves hold the standard potty-training books, but where's the sequel; the follow-up title that leads to mastering all the finer points of using the toilet? Welcome to Potty Animals: What to Know When You've Gotta Go!

Written in rhyme punctuated by emphatic statements, author Hope Vestergaard sneakily invites young children to correct the potty mistakes that a group of preschool or early elementary aged animals make in their toileting habits. Freddie the rabbit is afraid to flush, Helga the duck lallygags, Georgie won't wipe, and Farley won't close the door! Not only that, but there's an entire crew of tiny critters who exhibit a wide range of potentially embarrassing and unhealthy habits that must be curbed!

Illustrator Valeria Petrone's comical, clothed critters are caught in the act - barging Benji is suddenly surprised when someone barges in on him for a change, Stanley is spotted tinkling on his shoe as he pees outside behind a tree, and Ziggy's zipper is left embarrassingly open. There's no doubt what these critters are up to, with pants pulled down and perched on the potty, however Petrone does use tactful positioning of books and other elements to avoid embarrassment for young readers and their parents.

When I flipped open Potty Animals with my children I wasn't really sure what to expect. I hadn't pre-read this title, and just dove in. I can't honestly remember a time that I've laughed so hard reading a picture book. This is such a funny, frank, and age-appropriate way to delve into these issues. Just thinking about Benji the barger cracks me up every time - you really need to check this title out for yourself!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Really funny and cute! February 13, 2011

By Funmom

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Both of my kids, ages 3 and 7, love this book. We have all of the characters memorized, and we make jokes to each other about different issues that come up in the book. For example, if someone in the family leaves their zipper down, someone will shout, "Ziggy, check your zipper!" and everyone laughs. The illustrations are adorable!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I say 3 stars, the kids say 4...we'll go with 4 January 13, 2011

By SeaShell

Format:Hardcover

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. The illustrations are cute, to be sure, and any mom can get behind a book that works on bathroom etiquette and cleanliness in a humorous, fun way.

That said, while most of the rhymes were really cute, in a few the meter or rhyme was just a little bit off, causing me to stumble in spots or pause and rework the poem in my head as I went. And the admonishments in the book for poor bathroom manners of different animals felt a bit gossipy, prompting my 4 year old stop the reading to say, "That's not very nice, is it mommy? I feel bad for them!"

Anyway, despite those reservations, my boys enjoyed the book. The four year old has asked to have it read to him several days in a row. The real test will be, I suppose, to see whether their aim improves over the coming weeks...