a little after crw started to walk (months before the Child Reads World project was conceived), the daycare teacher wanted all of the toddlers to start potty training. i didn’t think babies started potty training until after 2 years old but the teacher said that the best time to start potty training is right after they start to walk. so, we purchased 2 potties (one for home and one for school) and researched some books about potty training. during my search, i found that the most recommended book was Taro Gomi’s “Everyone Poops (みんなうんち)“.
“Everyone Poops” / “みんなうんち” by Gomi Taro
when we started reading Everyone Poops, crw enjoyed naming the animals — the 2-page spread of the whale. since it showed what seems to be a full set of whale teeth, crw would pretend to brush the whale’s teeth with her finger. when crw learned the word “oatmeal” everything that looked like food was called “oatmeal”, so on the page “everyone eats” where all the animals and child are eating, crw would point to the little child eating and cheerfully announce “oatmeal!”
we’ve been reading Everyone Poops for several months now and there continues to be things to look at and discuss. we’ve looked at the different animals, the different size potties, the food on the cover, etc. i have read that some children are upset by seeing poop. this book has pictures of different sizes of poop, big and small, as well as poop coming out of animals and people yet crw does not seem to be bothered it. this may be attributed to how the author/illustrator present the subject and made the act of pooping a natural process instead of something fearful or “gross.”
Taro Gomi has written over 450 books and over 50 of them has been translated into many languages. みんなうんち was known as a groundbreaking book as few books had been written about bodily functions when the book was first published in 1977. みんなうんち has since been translated to English, Korean, Spanish and Thai.
cover from GomiTaro.com
author/illustrator: Taro Gomi
U.S edition
– title: “Everyone Poops”
– © Kane/Miller Book Publishers, 2001
– translated by: Amanda Mayer StinchecumOriginal Japanese edition
– title: “みんなうんち” (Minna Unchi)
– © Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers, Inc., 1977
when i realized the book was first published in Japan and fitting of my Child Reads World, i looked for the original Japanese version of the book. i found a video of someone singing the Japanese version. i can’t wait to introduce it to my little one! in our current not-so-diverse collection of books in the US, this is a successful and well revered international book!
[youtube.com/watch?v=MtNQqVJ0Jek]
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resources
- author: Gomi Taro (五味太郎)
- J’Lit Books from Japan: Everyone Eats and … Synopsis
- video of someone singing Japanese book on YouTube: みんなうんち
