Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this rollicking and appropriately goldenrod-washed comic, Viva (Weekend Dad) assures readers that no one ever outgrows needing to go. After distractedly assuring Mom that he doesn't need to use the restroom before heading to his grandfather's, young Owen--focused on screen time--realizes en route, "I gotta go!" When Owen barely makes it to the toilet ("Ahhh...") and a dog called Whizzer is seen letting loose against a tree, Owen and Grampa, portrayed with largely bald heads and tan skin, turn a park outing into a discussion of holding-it tactics. "I find that dancing helps me!" Grampa says, and the two are soon demonstrating an entire repertoire of preventive moves, including the Tinkle Twist, the Wee-wee Walk, the Piddle Patter, and the Leaky Shake. Viva employs a highly stylized aesthetic across rounded, accessible panels, including lots of profiles and silhouettes--and a bleeding yellow wash. Even more importantly, there isn't a put-upon or tut-tutting grown-up in these pages: Grampa is game for anything; the fantastical figures, shown with various skin tones, queueing for the park bathrooms each do dances of their own; and Mom is both bemused and empathic: "Ha, ha, ha! Stop it, you guys," she admonishes the cavorting Owen and Grampa. "You're going to make me pee in my pants." Ages 5--7. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--Viva's latest is as wry, cool, and spot-on as ever. Owen's mom checks in with him before they set out on a car ride to a visit with Grampa---"Do you have to pee before we go?" The distracted boy is too busy plinking, clinking, doinking on his device to even seriously consider it. As they cross the bridge, he's seized by a sudden urge to pee. With lots of patience, his mother suggests different ways to help him hold it: "Just try to think of something totally different. How about a favorite toy?" but all he can think of is running faucets and waterfalls. He makes it just in time. At the park, Grampa gives him more advice, including several silly dances that make light of the situation and just might do the trick in a dire situation. Viva's signature design-heavy art and fun humor elevate this perennial topic to a title both kids and their grown-ups will chuckle along to. This charming early reader graphic novel done in mostly block illustrations in black, gold, and white will help diffuse a stressful situation. The oversize heads and silhouette figures give this an almost animated feel, and the sweet dialogue distinguished by different color bubbles will help emerging readers decode meaning to the text. The limited and repeated vocabulary makes this a perfect suggestion for read-alouds or one-on-one reading. VERDICT A kid-friendly early reader graphic novel that hits all the right notes. You Gotta Go purchase for early elementary shelves.--Shelley M. Diaz
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Review by Horn Book Review
This level-two TOON comic opens with a poem, reminding readers that "everybody pees!" Owen is on his way to see Grampa, with his mother at the wheel, when the need to urinate overcomes him (in one very funny spread, we see the white of his eyeball fill with yellow liquid). Arriving at Grampa's place, he runs to the bathroom and relieves himself ("Ahhh..."). At the park, Owen admires the fact that his dog, Whizzer, can "pee anywhere." This prompts Grampa to show his grandson the goofy dances that help him when he has to hold in his pee: the Tinkle Twist, the Wee-wee Walk, and the Piddle Patter. Owen makes up two of his own on the spot: the Pee-pee Hop and the Leaky Shake. Soon, there's a line of people in the park contorting their bodies behind grandfather and grandson. This entertaining tale with all its squirmy, wiggly physical humor, marked by Viva's sleek, stylized illustrations, also includes practical tips for children who have to go but aren't in a place in which to do so: on the way to Grampa's, Owen's mother suggests he "try to think of something totally different" (though all Owen can think of is a waterfall, a running faucet, and his water pistol). Julie DanielsonSeptember/October 2023 p.84 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In this graphic easy reader, Owen learns techniques for forestalling the inevitable need to pee. Absorbed with a game in the car, Owen realizes 10 minutes from Grandpa's house that "I gotta go!" Mom helps the child think of something else (steering Owen away from such counterproductive images as a waterfall, running faucet, and water pistol). As the child rushes into the bathroom of Grandpa's third-floor walk-up just in time, Viva fills a double-page spread with Owen's relieved face. At the park with Grandpa and Whizzer the dog, Owen learns that older folks get up early because they need to pee. Grandpa wryly introduces the child to several dances that help him stem the urge. After learning the "Tinkle Twist" and the "Wee-Wee Walk," Owen collaborates with Grandpa on the "Pee-pee Hop," the "Piddle Patter," and the "Leaky Shake." (Unbeknownst to the pair, an ever growing line has formed for the public restrooms behind them.) When Mom arrives to pick Owen up, she's introduced to the dances as the line of waiting-to-go people, practicing their own set of urge diversions, begin to adopt some of the intergenerational duo's moves. Viva's crisply stylized graphics employ a palette of flat black, white, and gray, accented with a certain yellow in a watercolorlike texture. The family's skin tone is light brown; other characters are diverse. Comics conventions like silhouettes and exaggerated perspective round out the package. Funny--and comically instructive. (Graphic easy reader. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
