Don't Go There!

January 15, 2019
Can a human preschooler teach a baby alien how to use the potty?The narrator, who wears a jumper and tights, is charmed by a baby alien from another planet--until noticing he doesn't know "how to use the loo!" After he pees on the narrator's easel and then poos in a birdbath outside, the child brings him into the bathroom to show him the toilet. He's resistant, and so begins a lengthy interlude in which he resists all entreaties to use the potty and instead tries to go in various other places. Bragadottir's cartoon art exploits every opportunity for laughs as the small, green, froglike alien crouches over a cowboy hat, a trash can, and a fishbowl. The last instance results in a mess, though the narrator saves the fish. Determined child then marches the alien back to the bathroom and teaches him a potty song: "Lid up, pants down, / bottom on the seat. / Sit still, just chill, / until the job's complete. / Whistle if you want to. / Singing can be fun. / Wipe, flush, wash hands, / then you're done!" In a humorous aside, the alien flubs the song when he tries to sing it, but eventually he succeeds in using the potty. As he returns to his departing spaceship, the narrator turns his success around to readers, assuring them, "If he can use the potty, you can too!" The narrator presents white; judging by the alien's posture, his alimentary system and its termini are analogous to humans'.A spacey twist on the potty book. (Picture book. 1-3)

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August 2, 2019

Toddler-PreS-When a spunky young girl finds a baby Martian, she takes him in only to realize that nobody's taught him how to use the toilet. In fact, since this is a British picture book, nobody's taught him how to use the "loo." Absurdity abounds as the Martian relieves himself in strange and silly places, such as a trash can, a birdbath, and a fishbowl. This sort of thing will work grandly for kids who have an appreciation for potty humor. The girl eventually comes up with "The Toilet Song" to teach the alien how to properly use the facilities, though little guidance is given on how to actually sing the song. It starts out, "Lid up,/pants down,/ bottom on the seat./Sit still,/just chill,/until the job's/complete." The entire text is done in rhyme, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Bragadottir's cartoon illustrations have a softness and sense of humor to them, and the characters and situations are largely silly, but spot-on. VERDICT This book may come in handy as a serviceable addition for caretakers in the throes of potty training. -Gretchen Hardin, Bee Cave Public Library, TX

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