Poo Face

Andrew Daddo

Jonathan Bentley

Puffin, 2023

24pp., hbk., RRP $A17.99

9781761045776

We’ve all got one because we all do one. Every day.
Somedays twice a day. Somedays more.
Everyone has a poo face!

Whether it’s a dog or cat, a lion, an elephant, wombat, fish, giraffe or frog, they’ve all got a poo face – even you! 

Written to encourage little ones who are being toilet trained, this book with hilarious illustrations from Jonathan Bentley also has an important job of showing the little person that this is a normal and necessary bodily function for every creature on earth. It shows that going to the toilet is an everyday occurrence for everybody and everything and is a necessary part of being healthy, sparking conversations about the digestive system and how it works. It also shows that even though the little one may have been met with cries and faces of shock and horror when they produce a dirty nappy, that is not condemnation (as some seem to think and thus feel ashamed) but just something that is essential for our health and well-being.   By normalising it in this way, the stigma that has been attached to getting rid of body waste for centuries as though it is something nasty and naughty may be diminished so that if there is a change in the habit or the product, it can be addressed without embarrassment. 

Often what seems to be a simple picture book can have a far-reaching impact – and this is one of those.