Published By: Wren & Rook
Pages: 192
Released On: 11/04/2024
Did you know that you can discover loads about history just from the loo? Or piles about the past just from a poo? If not, then get ready to discover everything from Henry VIII’s dodgy diet and Aztec poop canoes, to giant, fossilized Viking plops, poo-tastic Roman plumbing, the stinky secrets of Victorian sewers, smelly cesspits, medieval muck and more.
From Saxons and Tudors to Ancient Greece, the Indus Valley and beyond, Poo Through the Ages features mighty monarchs, bonkers battles, deadly diseases, foul-smelling faeces and poo, poo, poo. Packed with fascinating facts, hilarious illustrations and the smelliest stories from our pongy past, get ready to dive into the smelliest corners of history!
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Wren & Rook for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
According to Amazon, this book is aimed at readers aged 7+, which at 30, I technically qualify for. As I am indeed, aged 7 or up. But I will admit it was my childish, immature side that wanted to read this. I do have children in the family who would love it and I might let them read it after, but the childish side of me wanted to read a book about poo! Who says reading kids books can’t be educational.
I haven’t studied history since 2007 and so can’t remember every single thing we studied, but I can say with certainty that we didn’t read much about poo. History is often seen as children’s least favourite subjects as it can be a bit dry. Maybe if we threw (not literally) a bit of poo in, it might become a bit more popular.
I think this could be quite an important book for kids to read. Yes it’s a fun read, it’s rude, and immature on the surface, and there’s a lot of giggling. But it goes deeper than that. In terms of our health, our poo is incredibly important, and it’s important to talk about it, but adults don’t tend to, or they feel awkward about it. But by creating a fun, seemingly inconsequential book about it, hopefully it will make a new generation feel more comfortable about the topic.
The copy I had was a digital one and so I can’t say for certain whether it’s the same or differs from the finished physical copy, but I think they’ll be the same, but my copy had some fabulous illustrations in. Not too complicated for young readers, but detailed enough for older readers. They were fun and really helped tell the story.
It’s perfectly pitched for its audience. It’s full of facts and anecdotes, but it also has jokes and little witty comments, and a quiz. She doesn’t hide away from the fact that talking about poo is funny, and I think that is what makes it so successful. I can think of many children (and adults) in my family that would enjoy this.
All being equal, as an adult, I thought it was really interesting, well researched, well written, well portrayed, well put together, and it was just a really good read. It’s not that I wasn’t expecting it to be so, but a book aimed at 7+ year olds is not always one suitable for adults, but I was really pleasantly surprised by it.
Books By Your Bedside 