Belches, Burps and Farts - Oh, My! by Artie Bennett

On these pages, we'll explore
Some body sounds we can't ignore!
No, not the sneeze, the wheeze, the sigh.
BUT . . . Belches
Burps
And . . . 
Farts
Oh My!

~ from Belches, Burps, and Farts - Oh, My!

I've read two other books by Artie Bennett and just happened to be wondering what he was up to (because I came across one of them while shelving books) when he wrote to ask me to review Belches, Burps, and Farts -- Oh, My! What a fun coincidence! Bennett has a way of making embarrassing topics educational and entertaining and he's done it, again.

Belches, Burps, and Farts - Oh, My! turns smelly body functions into a rollicking, rhyming lesson about why humans and most animals (not all!) produce and expel gas. Did you know jellyfish and anemones don't produce gas? Some foods are worse for causing gas than others? Did you know that if  gas from cows could be harnessed, their farts could produce a significant amount of energy? Do you know the origin of the word "fart"? All that and more is explained in Belches, Burps, and Farts -- Oh, My!

I particularly love Belches, Burps, and Farts -- Oh, My! for its educational side. The illustrations are vibrant but a little busy for me. However, they do keep your eyes moving. I can imagine even very small children flopped on the floor, enjoying the illustrations. Hopefully, you can click on these images to enlarge them:

In addition to the rhyming text, there is a nice list of facts for teachers or parents to share with youngsters, at the back of the book.

Recommended - Artie Bennett never fails to entertain and educate, often on unique topics (some that we don't give a lot of thought) and he's done it, again. While I'm not a huge fan of the illustrations, I love the text and learned a few things, myself.

Other books by Artie Bennett:

The Butt Book
Poopendous

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Poopendous by Artie Bennett & Mike Moran - #2 for Children's Day

Poopendous by Bennett & Moran

Copyright 2012

Blue Apple Books - Children's (Amazon says "Ages 4 and up")

36 pages

My first thought when Artie Bennett asked me to review Poopendous was, "Um. Yuck!" But, I wasn't actually all that sure about The Butt Book when I saw the title (same author, different artist) and it turned out to be an absolute riot. And, I do have a passion for children's picture books. Can you tell?

Poopendous begins by talking about how poop is kind of a disgusting subject, there are different names for it, and all creatures poop.

Poop is yucky, poop is foul.

Step in poop and you will howl.

To read this book, you must be strong.

Just hold your nose and come along.

There's a delightful illustration of a woman looking horrified about the poop on her shoe, a skunk holding his nose, a dog howling, a boy looking queasy and your guide, "Professor Pip Poopdeck" appearing perfectly calm. So cute.

After talking about names for poop, the fact that monkeys will fling it at you and your dog may make it very clear when he needs to go, the next thing described is the "styles" of poop - from tiny fly specks to giant hippo piles, round rabbit pellets to cube-shaped wombat poop.

Next up are the uses of poop. I had no idea termite mounds were made of termite poop! But, I did know poop is a way that seeds are carried. Whew! Didn't want to flunk, "Are you smarter than a preschooler?" Marking scent and trails, warning other creatures away and enriching soil, burning for cooking, used to seal and build homes (Mongol yurts sealed with yack dung; Masai huts that are made of cow dung) are mentioned, followed by such silly things as moose poop souvenirs (which we've laughed about in Alaska) and cowpie-flinging at county fairs.

The book ends on the following note:

Why should such wondrous stuff offend us?

Poop is TRULY quite . . .

POOPENDOUS!

My thoughts:

I love it! Educational, silly, rhythmically rhyming text and fun, colorful, goofy illustrations make Poopendous a rocking fine addition to a child's shelf. Recommended.

This is #2 for Children's Day. Two more reviews are forthcoming!

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.