The 11 Best Children’s Books About Pooping
Potty books for the win!
Poop, through a colloquial turn of phrase, has been unjustly relegated to the rank of Number 2, but some books know conducting business on the ivory thrones of post-banquet majesty is nothing if not Number 1. Which is why kids need not fear the restroom reaper or the bathroom beast of many names. No, they must sing songs of celebration and march proudly with heads held high and chests puffed triumphantly outwards as they ready themselves for a hero’s journey along the path of their ancestors. They must, by divine law, do the doo.
But the path won’t be easy. A hero’s path rarely is. They’ll need help along the way in the form of top-grade literature, handy guides for them to reference as they become more acquainted with the most sublime kind of movements, that is, of their bowels. And we’ve collected the 11 books that will do the trick. Check them out here.
Everyone Poops
The title is blunt and drives the point home: pooping is natural and everybody does it. Written and illustrated by Taro Gomi, Everyone Poops is a mash-up of the cute and scientific. In it, not only will you find family-friendly illustrations of adults and children doing their business, but along with it an examination of poops all over the animal kingdom, including elephants, ants, mice, and camels. Because after all, everyone poops.
The Captain Underpants Series
Captain Underpants was like punk rock for kids. It’s all about two irreverent best friends Harold and George and the high school principal they hypnotized to think he’s one of the comic book characters they made up aptly named Captain Underpants on account of his fighting crime in his underwear. Captain Underpants has poop jokes up the ying-yang though isn’t strictly about poop; it also dabbles in pee and boogers.
Poems of Poop
Filled with colorful pictures and hilarious poop poems, Poems of Poop by Mark O’Toole and Chris Allard is an ode to our digestive dance that somehow manages to make poop heartwarming. Worth it for the fun you’ll have reading these to your kids.
It Hurts When I Poop! A Story for Children Who are Afraid to Use the Potty
It Hurts When I Poop by Howard J. Bennet is about a boy named Ryan who’s afraid to use the potty out of fear it’s going to hurt. He takes this problem to his doctor who comforts him, teaching Ryan all about what poop is and how certain foods can affect it. This is a great book for poop reluctant kids that need an extra push.
The Story of the Little Mole in Search of Whodunit
There are a lot of places poop doesn’t belong but on top of a head is probably where it belongs the least. In The Story of the Little Mole in Search of Whodunit by Werner Holzwarth, a mole is understandably irate when he finds a big ol’ piece of poo on his head, which prompts him to set off on a quest to figure out who done the deed. Naturally, what you’re going to get is scatological humor for kids and adults aplenty.
Whose Poop Is That?
This book, a guessing game that helps kids identify animals through their poops is awesome. Whose Poop is That? by author Darrin Lunde and illustrator Kelsey Oseid asks kids to become the Sherlock Holmes of poop and identify animals through deductive reasoning. Does the poop have twigs, grass, and little bits of bamboo in it? Then there must be a panda nearby! That’s one example the book gives, and there are a ton more.
Where’s the Poop?
Where’s the Poop? reinforces potty training lessons by teaching kids that every animal has a place to poop. Some animals go in the jungle, some in the rainforest, and others in the desert. And as people, kids’ learn that their place is the potty.
Jurassic Poop
Examining fossils is only one way people can learn about the ancient thunder lizards that walked the Earth, there’s also their poop. For kids that love dinosaur trivia and don’t have a problem with squeamishness, Jurassic Poop by Jacob Berkowitz and Steve Mack is a fascinating read about everything we can learn from ancient, frozen poops.
Poo in the Zoo!
After illustrating children’s books for 30 years, Steve Smallman decided to start writing them, a decision that led to the inception of Poo in the Zoo, a kids book about head zookeeper Bob McGrew who’s lost patience with all the poop he has to deal with. That is, until he gets some surprise help from an iguana.
Monster Poop
Monster Poop, despite having monsters front and center, is all about making poop less scary and weird for kids. Filled with colorful images of harmless oddball monsters and their poops, this book tries to turn potty training a light-hearted endeavor rather than a stressful horror show.
What do They Do With All That Poo?
Every question you and your kids may or may not have had about what happens to the piles of poop that builds up in zoos is answered in What do They Do With All That Poo? Through a mix of rhymes and fact-filled prose, author Jane Kurtz shows kids that poop is nothing to be afraid of, but learn from.
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