Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-7. Is America ready for The Story of Farts? First published in Japan, the book begins with an elephant passing gas ("When an elephant farts, the farts are really big") and quickly moves on to people. Although there's factual information about swallowing air, the digestive process, and what causes gas to smell ("after meat, fish, eggs or things like that, your farts smell really bad"), for kids, the cartoon-style drawings featuring people, lions, hippos, and pets passing gas will be the big draw. In fact, this should have them rolling in the aisles. Libraries will have to balance the pluses of having on their shelves a book that will answer questions about a topic every kid is interested in against the sometimes repetitious text, crude drawings (one of a man and a boy nude in a bathtub passing gas bubbles is highly questionable), and the effect on community sensibilities. From the same publisher that last year brought you Everyone Poops. ~--Ilene Cooper
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
With a title like this, expect no surprises within. The latest Japanese import by Kane/Miller continues in the same vein as Everyone Poops and The Holes in Your Nose, exploring yet another subject generally considered taboo. Brevity reigns in both illustration (cartoons and diagrams tinted with swaths of clashing color) and text (which doesn't even attempt to be subtle). Both informative and blunt, the book provides young readers with solid facts as well as plenty to snicker about, including some sage advice ("Don't hold them in-pass that gas!") that will send parents everywhere running for the air freshener. Ages 18 mos.-4 yrs. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 1-A simplistic explanation of human and animal flatulence. The text adequately tells how gas is formed and its characteristics, although it overlooks the role of dairy products in its formation. A basic diagram shows the passage of food and air through the body. The drearily colored, amateur line cartoons depict a family of no particular race and zoo animals with sound balloons, such as ``BURP!'' and ``BAAROOMM'' being emitted from both ends. This bodily function that is the source of so much schoolyard humor may be of interest to youngsters, but they won't glean much information from this mediocre presentation.-Martha Gordon, formerly at South Salem Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
