RAJ'S RULE (FOR THE BATHROOM AT SCHOOL)

Author and educator Button offers a sympathetic treatment of a common but rarely depicted childhood anxiety.

Young Raj’s rule is to avoid the school bathroom at all costs. To execute, this kid has strategies: no juice at lunch, no trips to the water fountain, no active play at recess, no laughing. Posture is critical. It all seems pretty grim, but Raj knows how to spin it: “Here’s a great game—squeeze your knees tight, / and don’t use the bathroom with all of your might.” Button’s verse is unexceptional, but it gets the job done and even slyly prompts audience participation in a moment that will definitely spark giggles: “Steer clear of Kyle. He’s too funny—trust me. / That guy gets you laughing so hard you might….” A sneeze drives Raj to the bathroom in spite of everything, however, leading to unaccustomed comfort and the revelation that maybe it’s not such a bad place to do business after all. “I feel different,” Raj remarks and then proceeds to live dangerously, enjoying both juice and the water fountain, playing at recess, and even laughing at Kyle’s jokes. Aly’s cartoons depict Raj with brown skin and a puffy, dark-brown coif. Classmates are thoughtfully diverse, including some chubby kids as well as a couple who wear glasses and another who uses a wheelchair.

Sweet relief.