The Barn's on Fire, The Horses are Out, and Someone Has a Stinky Bum

Do cowgirl moms have guilt, too? You bet. And, we even change bums and take our kids to dance practice, between feeding critters and quading around the countryside. You've discovered my garden, now check out the ranch.

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Monday, September 22, 2008

It Hurts When I Poop- The Scoop on Poop - it stinks!


Howard J. Bennett, M.D. (auth)
M.S Weber (ill)
Magination Press 2007
Ages: toddler
ISBN 10: 1433801310
13: 9781433801310





I wanted to like this one. I really did. I mean with a title like It Hurts When I Poop, well, that was enough, alone to put it on my radar. However, I am sad to say, this book fell very short of its potential and left me wondering Did an editor actually read this book? And Did a High School student illustrate it? I think this is a classic example of what happens when an “expert” tries to write a children’s book.


Dr. Bennett started with a brilliant concept. Often children have a fear of the big BM because of the pain they may experience. The story begins with one such boy, Ryan. Concerned, his parents take him to the doctor. It is then that the plot lags into the depths of amateurishness.


The doctor relates a story to Ryan about a coyote, Bill that does not like to clean up after himself. Eventually his house becomes jammed full of garbage and he cannot function in it. His parents convince him to clean it up. After he does, he feels so great, he throws a party. Good metaphor, I would have worked on it a bit more, though. And, most importantly, I would have chopped Bill’s whole saga in half, at least. It wanes on far too long and competes for attention with Ryan’s story. I’m unsure what the main plot is supposed to be. Is Ryan’s story framing Bill’s, or is Bill’s complimenting Ryan’s?


The lustre and quality of the illustrations is also compromised in an attempt to separate the two stories. I’m no artist, but I would have substituted a different pallet of colours rather than minimize Bill’s pages to just brown and white (there is colour for Bill's party). Not since Winnie the Poo have those type of illustrations been able to satisfy a child. The lack of style and imagination does not speak well to Weber’s talents as an illustrator.


But, to continue on- the doctor draws the comparison for Ryan and shows him how his food travels through his body. The illustrations to accompany this portion, while consistent with the quality of the others, could be quite useful to any parent struggling with potty training. The diagrams clearly show how the food travels and turns into poop, which makes explaining the process a whole lot easier. However, they could easily have been merged into one illustration.


There are helpful suggestions on what foods to eat to soften poops, and which ones to avoid. There is also a list of activities to help your child envision the BM process. These are wonderful components of this book, labelled the "Poop Program". But really? Line drawings with zero in the expression department, competing plots, overload of info? I’d chop a few hundred words, hire a decent illustrator, and package it all a little differently (I could go on about that), then this book would really be something to write about. It could be a real classic potty training book. It already has the title. Right?


In the end, I feel like this is one of those books that EA was spammed with, though this was published by legitimate people-the American Psychological Association. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, people, please get an editor that has some experience with writing something other than a thesis ...please. I still want to like this book.


It Hurts When I Poop was given a five star rating on Amazon and there are plenty of parents over there who are singing its praises. But, I stand by my guns. Looking at this book from a writer's point of view, it fell short, even if the concept was great and arguably useful.


By the way, 2 ¾ year-old son is also a fan of this book. Well, not the whole thing, just the poop diagrams, but he is a toddler, and a boy, and loves anything to do with his bodily functions. He’s not going to grow out of that, is he?

1 comment:

jennifer elaine said...

Make sure that your child is not constipated. This is the most important in getting started. Children’s are afraid of the toilet and the whole process of getting in a cold wet small room. If you are not an expert in knowing about the constipation, get them to a doctor when you see signs of them not eating well or change of mood. Increase the amount of fluid and fiber in their daily diet. Water plays an import role in helping your child staying healthy and helping to digest easily. Give lots of water and encourage with praise when they drink. Fiber enriched food for kids include; Barley, Navy Beans, Baked Beans, Split Peas, Oat Bran, Raspberries, Green Peas, Prunes, Spinach, Broccoli, Raisins, Mixed Vegetables, Strawberries, Carrots, Potatoes, Corn, Rice, Apples, Oranges, Celery.

Read children's story books about potty training to your child. There are lots of books available for you get online on potty training. Reading and imagination helps the child to relate to the interesting characters and behaviors within the story and helps them follow accordingly. Offer lots of praise when your child does make some progress. It is not an easy practice but this will help you see results amazingly when you really put in the effort to make your child proud of their achievement. Avoid physical punishment for not using the potty. Stop all reminders about using the toilet. Replace the reminders with the potty training stories you’ve read to your child. This helps as their mind recalls the story and how will keep it in mind when its time.

source: http://www.childdevelopmenttechniques.com