Kids will learn the rules of toilet training in this cheerful, rhyming
picture book that introduces a cast of “young beasties” who make
mistakes in their preschool’s potty until they realize how to handle all
the aspects of hygiene, cleanliness, privacy, and finishing up (“flush
and zip”). Wilma tends to wait too long before she goes to the potty, and
sometimes she is too late. Freddie is afraid to flush, so he acts like
he forgets. Helga reads and dreams on the toilet while a line of kids
wait to use it. In the schoolyard, Arnold is great at shooting the ball
in the net, but when it is time to go to the bathroom, he isn’t always
accurate; he hits the lid, then the floor: “Yuck! Lift the seat.” Benji,
who tends to barge in on others, learns his lesson when someone does
the same to him: “Knock first!” Never intimidating, this informative,
fun title, illustrated in smooth, candy-colored artwork, shows that
everyone can mess up, get over it, and learn to change. Preschool. -Hazel Rochman
