Everyone Poops: The Scoop on Poop

Taro Gomi
Kane/Miller Book Publishers July 2006
Preschool 28pp
Trade Paperback ISBN 192913214X
Hard Cover ISBN 0916291456


The likes of Paris Hilton and Victoria Beckham will be dismayed to know the secret is out ...yes, everyone poops. Taro Gomi has written and illustrated a book to prove it. If only Freud were alive for this one.

If you haven't read this book, you're in for a treat (or perhaps several of them). This is a graphic, yet cute look at the world of the BM. Gomi manages to fill page after page (28 all told) with colourful illustrations of various creatures, along with the doo-doo they make, where thye make it, and how they dispose of it. Notable illustrations include, a boy running for the potty with his briefs trailing by one ankle, an evolutionary scale of passing the poop (from a baby with a suprise filled diaper to a dad on the throne with a newspaper), a boy proudly displaying a turd in the toilet bowl, and a two-hump camel poop. However, the last couple of pages take the cake. Let's just say, it is a before and after depiction.

I have read "Everyone Poops", countless times, and it still makes me bust a gut. I believe the three little inspirations enjoy their mother's reaction to the book more than they enjoy the book itself (though they really love this one). This book has become a family favourite. While it has yet to coax the coveted poop on the potty from my two-year-old, it has inspired him to give it a few tries. That, after all, is a start.

However, it is not simply diaper weary moms who will apreciate this book. At its most basic, "Everyone Poops" demonstrates how similar we are, not only to our fellow man, but to the other inhabitants of this little planet we inhabit. "All God's creatures" - gone awry? Perhaps, but it does make a point. Deep down in the bowels of our being (sorry, couldn't resist), we all share many of the common experiences of life -be them secret, or even embarassing. "Everyone Poops" speaks to a child's sense of humanity in an offbeat and downright hilarious manner.

I recommend this book for any child ...not necessarily any parent (I can think of a few who might be turned off) ...but definitely any child. It is a good one to leave with the babysitter, if he or she is a teen. They will love it and might actually think you are cool for buying such a book for your children. When my own children outgrow our copy, I plan to display it proudly in the john, as a bathroom book.

P.S. Would you believe I actually had to stop twice, while writing this, to change both my baby's and my toddler's bums? Honestly. Talk about really getting into your work. Can we get another potty book over here, please.