Have You Seen My Potty? by Mij Kelly
| Have You Seen My Potty? by Mij Kelly | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A light-hearted look at toilet training as an increasingly desperate Suzy Sue searches for her potty. Highly recommended. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: June 2008 |
| Publisher: Hodder Children's Books | |
| ISBN: 978-0340911532 | |
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This is the story of Suzy Sue who had something very important to do, something important that she did every day…
…until someone snatched her potty away.
Toilet training is a big step in a child's life. It's leaving the nappies behind that marks the end of being a baby and the start of independence. As a parent it's one of the big milestones (although not one that's easily talked about in polite company) and because of this potty training can become too fraught for the transition to be easy. There are going to be tears and tantrums – and it's not easy for the child either. Books giving advice to parents are ten a penny, but very few for the people who really matter – until now.
Mij Kelly, helped by some wonderful illustrations by Mary McQuillan, has made the subject fun for children. Suzy Sue needs to do a poo, but her bright red potty has been whisked away just at that most important of moments – and she falls on her bottom. The hoof that does the whisking looks suspiciously like the one that belongs to the cow. Suddenly all the animals realise their urgent need – and form an orderly queue.
There is no coyness in this book. Children need to poo just as animals need to poo. Too often it's hidden behind euphemisms or not spoken off at all. It isn't something shameful or dirty. It's perfectly natural and the child that grows up knowing that is less likely to have problems in later life. In Have You Seen My Potty? you're going to laugh about it.
The cow sees the benefit of what becomes known as 'the poo pot' straight away and when Suzy Sue comes to ask if she's seen her potty the cow is, er, enthroned and reading her newspaper to while away the time. She reads the Dairy Express by the way, and it's opportune that the paper hides the potty from view and Suzy goes on her increasingly desperate way.
The animals all see the benefits of using the poo pot:
No more stepping in poo wherever we go!
How we managed without it we'll never know!
Poor Suzy Sue chases around the spotlessly clean farm yard in search of her potty and it's not until she becomes desperate that relief is at hand and the fact that the potty could not be found is fully explained.
There's a humour in the book that will appeal to adults and children – it's a book where you'll laugh together about what happens. It's wonderful to read aloud despite some rather dubious rhymes and plenty of repetitions that will get the young reader joining in. The messages are clear but delivered with a very light (and spotlessly clean) hand and it's because of this that I think the book will not just be read once and forgotten. Highly recommended.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
For another book that made us laugh we can recommend The Cow That Laid An Egg by Andy Cutbill.
Have You Seen My Potty? by Mij Kelly is in the Top Ten Books For Children Who Think That Farts Are Funny.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Have You Seen My Potty? by Mij Kelly at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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