Flush!: The Scoop on Poop Throughout the Ages (review)

Thirteen poems humorously address aspects of excretory history in roughly chronological order, beginning with traditional uses of urine and precursors of toilet paper, proceeding to touch on Roman lavatorial habits and medieval European sanitation practices, then discussing the development of flush toilets, different global practices, and the technology for handling elimination in space. As poetry, the verses are ungainly and labored, with scansion and clear syntax tossed away in the dogged pursuit of often-strained rhyme; some of the facts conveyed are pretty vague as to time or place (there are no notes on sources, either). The subject is pretty hard to resist, though, and kids will be enraptured by the details of butt-wiping Romans, chamber-pot-slopping English, and sewer-touring Parisians. Each spread offers a sidebar of "Fun Facts," while the concluding poem will encourage an enjoyably raucous finish as kids give vent to the suppressed with a resounding "POOPY! POOPY! POOPY!" Though compositions are sometimes unbalanced, the acrylic and collage illustrations offer lots of lively elements, such as comic speech balloons and diagrams, to pore over and giggle at, if there's any giggling energy left after the poopy humor of the verse. Youngsters not yet ready for the more solidly factual examinations of Nicola Davies (Poop: A Natural History of the Unmentionable, BCCB 11/04) or Susan Goodman (The Truth about Poop, BCCB 6/04) will likely enjoy dipping into this—just make sure they wash their hands.