THE MISSING POTTY

A gentle nudge to help children make the transition from potty to “real potty."

Bunny is potty trained. She brings her little red potty with her everywhere. But when her potty goes missing, she must go looking for it, stopping at friends’ houses one by one. The conversation at each animal’s home starts, “Knock, knock. Are you using the potty?” From behind a door, each animal answers “Yes,” and invites her to come in. The narrator then asks readers to speculate “Who’s sitting on this potty?”The sturdy flap that doubles as a painted bathroom door hints at what animal is sitting on the toilet. With five to nine lines of text per page, the story is somewhat wordy, but the predictable format of each interaction and conversational tone throughout will sustain children’s interest, especially if they are in the midst of toilet training. Brightly colored pictures of familiar objects, including lots of toilets, give toddlers much to talk about. (Tiger’s throne is shown with a splash guard, but otherwise no mention is made of the toileting challenges tots with penises must overcome.) When Giraffe points out that “you can never lose a real potty,” Bunny runs home and uses it. A final spread showing Bunny flushing and washing her hands before joining her friends outside will be appreciated by germ-conscious adults.

This Dutch/Belgian import will be useful during that seemingly endless time of toilet training.