THE BIG BOOK OF BARF

A “spewnami” of straight poop on vomit.

Leaving no double entendre unturned, Lorencen goes well beyond alimentary basics in this “ralphabetical” A-Z discourse on the causes, functions, varieties, and biological mechanisms of (to use the medical term) emesis. The book introduces readers to interesting new words, like peristalsis and uvula, and offers overviews of the whole digestive system and the enteric nervous system that governs it. Kids can also feast on a burgeoning lexicon of synonyms and slang terms for vomit—the A entry alone lists five that start with that letter—as well as potential causes, from food poisoning and car sickness to “cybersickness.” Lorencen suggests practical remedies and even offers step-by-step instructions for cleaning the carpet afterward. All of this content is delivered in a stew of digestible prose blocks and punny text exchanges between light-skinned questioner Chuck, an unattached stomach named Queezy, and brown-skinned explainer Professor Anita Puke. Recipes for gross but edible treats with stomach-churning names like Barfday Cake, historical anecdotes, and versions of Jonah and the whale and other briefly retold ancient tales are interspersed. The illustrations—fanciful cartoony spot images capped by a pair of simplified anatomical diagrams relegated to the “Back Splatter” alongside a list of international equivalents for toilet—are wanting. Still, this info-gusher, plainly a labor of love, will draw readers like flies.

A sure crowd pleaser, better for browsing than systematic research.