Wacky Wednesday - The Gas We Pass - Picture Book & KID KANDY

The Gas We Pass, The Story of Farts
Written by Shinta Cho
Translated by Amanda Mayer Stinchecum
(A Curious Nell Book; Kane/Miller Book Publishers, 1994)

Wacky Wednesday once again tackles a bodily function - gas.

Blunt. That is the way Shinta Cho (translated from the original Japanese) penned The Gas We Pass, The Story of Farts. The illustrations are pretty comical but tie in perfectly with the subject matter. The truth about how our bodies make gas as a by-product of the digestive process is simply explained. Graphs help readers understand and visualize how much gas we pass and how normal farting is for humans and animals alike.

Bathroom humor makes this a perfect book for any age - the serious and curious minded preschoolers, the potty talking elementary boys, and even adults who love to joke about passing gas.

If toots are a common subject at your home, this just might be the book for your family.

KID KANDY:

Ok. Tough one here. Hmmmmm...

Passing Gas Household Survey

~ Make a list of all of the animals and people in the household.

~ Turn into a super sleuth to catch each one passing gas.

~ Chart the results.

1. Fart? (yes or no)

2. Smelly? (yes or no)

3. Noisy? (yes or no)

4. Diet? (What types of food does the subject eat? Cho describes the difference between meat eaters and mainly vegetarian diners.)

~ Do your results match with what you read in The Gas We Pass, The Story of Farts?


Angie Quantrell likes books that teach about how our bodies work, even if the subject matter is sometimes embarrassing. She would rather use the old saying that girls fluff, not pass gas.

Wacky Wednesday - Everyone Poops

Everyone Poops
By Taro Gomi
(Kane/Miller Book Publishers, 1993)

Everyone Poops. It's a book about potty matters.

You know it's true. Everyone does poop. The animals and the people - anyone or anything that eats must eventually, well, go potty.

Colorful yet easy to understand illustrations makes Everyone Poops a classic for potty training. Sure, potty humor hits a little later in the developmental cycles of humans, but the honest discussion of going potty is for the youngest of children.

Be warned, there are plenty of poopy pictures in this book. Read in a matter-of-fact way, young children will gain understanding of a natural bodily function. Later, you may catch the older children reading and giggling. No way around that one!

Everyone Poops - a truly Wacky Wednesday wonder.

KID KANDY:

Take a walk.

This activity will be especially beneficial in a forest or woodsy area or on a farm. There is plenty of poop in both of those habitats.

Look for poop. Kids would love to use a magnifying glass to look closer at discovered specimens. Try and figure out who did it - the cow? the horse? a bear? a duck?

Just watch where you step!


Angie Quantrell loves books that help explain nature and the way things work. Even if some people think talking about poop is gross, it is a very real topic of conversation for kids. The best way to answer questions children may have? Answer just what they ask in a matter-of-fact way. Don't worry. If they have more questions, they will keep on asking. And you keep answering by adding tiny bits of information.