Every kid likes to talk about poop and I think this a great book for them when they're discovering this. I wouldn't say to read this in the classroom but this is a great discover book to read and go over with your kids at home. I also really enjoyed all the illustrations in the book as well with the connections the author made. ( )

I believe this book is a very great independent read for reluctant readers and students who love weird facts. The book is a slightly humorous informational book that tells the facts about poop in a funny way. On pg. 16 it notes,"Medieval times in Europe were called' The Dark Ages' for many reasons, "Denoting that plumbing practices were really horrible during that time. One thing i didn't like about the book is the wordiness of it. While the large text can definitely challenge a reader and strengthen their skills, it also can make the book's main target, reluctant readers, less likely to finish the whole thing. Overall, i Would recommend it as an independent read as it is both funny and filled with facts. ( )

Summary: This is a funny story about poop and offers information about why we poop, what we poop, and how often we poop.

Personal reflection: I liked this book because it was really silly, yet offered a lot of information about poop that many children probably wonder about. I wouldn't use it in my classroom, because I think it would invite a lot of silliness from the students and it might be an easy book to get off topic with.

Class Use: I would use this book as informational text to explain any questions the students have about poop and as a fun book after testing to give the kids a well needed break.

Recommended Ages: Gr. 2-4 (because it's a collection of facts that hopefully prompts more investigation by older kids)

Plot Summary: A collection of facts related to poop. Divided into chapters:
Birds Do It, Bees Do It - everyone, how much and how often, animals that have a special area for their toilet, animals that use the smell of their poop to communicate, animals that use poop to protect themselves or trap others
The ABCs of Elimination - human biology, history of the toilet, before toilet paper, toilet paper invention, how much toilet paper is used, what happens when you flush, pooping in extreme places (ie. cold, space, jungle, mountains)
Useful Poop - how humans use animal poop, how we can learn about an animal from its poop, getting power from poop, eating poop, poop games, poop gifts, poop hazards

Each section of the book has between 4-5 paragraphs with examples. Names and main ideas are in a bold font to make it easy to skim.

Interesting Facts:
"When they are upset, chimps who have been taught sign language indicate their frustration by making the sign for poop." - end paper
"On average, people use the toilet five times a day (once to poop, four times to pee)" - end paper
"if food is scarce, young cockroaches can live by eating their parents' poop" - end paper
A skipper caterpillar "can shoot it's poop a distance of six feet" -pg 5
"sloths can poop out two punds of waste in a single session--over a quarter of what they weigh" - pg 9
Lions cover their poop to hide it from their prey, which is why pet cats also do it. -pg 11
"On average, people produce about an ounce of poop for each 12 pounds of body weight." -pg 15
Humans used stones, leaves, moss, snow, shells, coconut husks, ropes, and corn cobs to wipe before toilet paper. -pg 20
During WWII, mines were made to look like fake camel poop because the German's thought it was good luck to drive over it in a tank. - pg 39

Recurring Themes: animals, poop, science, history

Controversial Issues: Pg 39 - German soldiers were killed when they rolled over camel dung mines in their tanks.

Personal Thoughts: This book will be impossible to keep on the shelf. It has some really fun facts to amaze young and old. I'm struggling with the age range. Elementary kids will love to check it out, but I think it assumes kids have background knowledge of certain things (ie. bats sleep upside down). The vocabulary also seems a little advanced. I was disappointed it left out information about how contaminated water makes people very sick. Overall, I think this is a great starting point to get kids reading, but I think we should direct them to other books about poop to get them truly thinking like a scientist.

Genre: informational text

Pacing: very quick read, short chapters, short paragraphs, very appealing
Characters:
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: Questioning ( )

An informative book that ranges from pre-toilet paper to how poop is useful and a lot in between. There is a lot of information in this book and it is humorous. It has more fun facts than useful information but still fun. ( )