Look what finally won my Instagram poll!!!!
I am not one of those children’s librarians who think snot and poop are funny. I try, friends, I really try, but it’s just not me. I can assure you that our littlest patrons don’t share my refined taste, so I’ve collected all of the 2019 picture books about bodily functions I could find. Here’s what we got.
See the other posts in my 2019 Picture Book series:
- Books Featuring Babies
- Biographies of Women
- Feelings and Emotions
- Outer Space
- Mythical and Magical Creatures
- Poetry Collections
- Things That Go
- Bedtime Stories
- Seasons
- Reading and Writing
- Grandparents
- Dinosaurs
- School Stories
- Cats and Dogs
- Nature
- Gender Expansive
- Holiday Stories
- Under the Sea
- Music, Dancing, and Singing
- Playing
- Food
- Parents
- Technology, Computers, and Robots
- Neighbourhoods and Homes
Which ones do you think your library kids will love? Let me know in the comments!
I love it! I am one of those people who thinks a well-crafted poop or underwear joke is funny, but there are so many parents who do not share my sense of humor, so I generally shy away from them for in-library storytimes, but I’ll sneak them on on outreach visits occasionally. I read The Poo In The Zoo by Steve Smallman once to a group as their end-of-the-year treat, and I’ve never said “poo” so many times if 5 minutes! But they loved it.
Well-crafted being key here! You’re right – the kids love it so much that it’s hard not to indulge in storytimes 🙂
I love this so much!! Also, it doesn’t look like you linked to the Bedtime Stories 2019 Picture Books post at the top.
wow, good eye! I’ve added it in. Thanks so much!
One thing I am wondering about is how to talk about bodily functions in a culturally responsive manner – I know potty humor is definitely NOT universally appreciated (not even within my office!), so what does this mean for my storytimes? On the one hand I’ve seen storytime caregivers bonding over potty training issues, so I want to make space for these important stories, and on the other hand, I don’t want to be offensive. Hmm…
The books I’m featuring in this series are picture books published in 2019, not storytime books necessarily. So it’s more of a collection development tool than a programming tool. But I hear you – that’s one of the reasons I shy away from books like Naked! by Michael Ian Black in storytime as I’m not sure what cultural norms exist in my group around nudity. I do feature these books in displays and in booklists though because as you said it’s a key part of growing up!