I have read some books that are stinkers in my time and here is another. I don’t mean that it is a bad book, it’s excrement, sorry excellent, but it’s never going to be number one, always number two or possibly the turd one! It’s plop-dropping farting fantastic. Why all the poo references? Well, I have been reading the graphic novel, and the first book in the Poo Crew Adventures series, Journey to Poo-topia by James Turner and Steve May, and when it comes to comic fun, it does the jobbie.
Let’s face it, poo and toilet humour in general have always held a weird and wonderful fascination for kids (and, let’s be honest, more grown-ups than they care to admit). Mix the strange appeal of poo with the bright, bold world of graphic novels, a genre that’s exploded in popularity for young readers, and perfect for reluctant readers, you get a recipe for instant fun. Graphic novels bring stories to life in vivid colour, with fun characters leaping off the page, facial expressions for every mood, and action sequences that practically move. So, when a graphic novel like Poo Crew Adventures: Journey to Poo-topia comes along, it’s hard not to dive in nose-first (into the book that is, not a pile of dung – at least I hope not!).
Journey to Poo-topia by James Turner and Steve May is the first book in the Poo Crew Adventures series, a graphic novel series suitable for children age 7+. It is a riotously silly adventure all about the brown and sticky waste substance we all need to get rid of every day. As well as being hilariously funny, it is also overflowing with facts!
Clench your noses, hold your breath, and let’s jump straight in. And we are not going to the Hundred-Acre Wood, that’s the wrong poo, but taking a deep dive down the toilet while I’m on a roll… a toilet roll!
Journey to Poo-topia is a story that follows Professor Poo and Ploppy, the POO CREW, a ragtag band of brave, bumbling heroes on a quest to Poo-topia, a place where toilet humour isn’t just encouraged – it’s a way of life.
Before we go any further, let’s meet the characters:
- Ploppy: An ordinary-looking poo with an extraordinary gift of the gab. His wide-eyed innocence makes him both endearing and hilarious as he discovers the digestive world around him.
- Professor Poo: A lab-coated, interdimensional expert on all faecal matters. With witty banter and a passion for science, he guides Ploppy (and young page turners) through miles of intestines, stomachs, and even the sewers.
Now onto the toilet dwelling adventure that is packed with 173 pages, 8 fun chapters from Making a Splash to Poo-topia, instructions on how to draw our excrement heroes, and a glossary of terms that may be unfamiliar to young readers. It looks at how important poo actually is, from a human waste product to growing new food.
The story starts at another quiet day in the toilet bowl, in a bathroom near you, before bursting into life with a splash. But suddenly a poo-rtal is opened and Professor Poo arrives, the universes leading expert in poo science, and he is about to take our splash-landed friend, Ploppy, on an adventure and teach him all about the importance of poo.
The adventure takes Ploppy on a journey that looks at how poo is made and what it is used for: from the role food plays, how it is eaten, broken down and digested, from mouth to bum. Starting with chewing our food, following its journey through the body and the roles saliva, tongue, throat, stomach, intestines, and the rectum play in creating the waste product. And the fun factual information doesn’t stop there, it looks at the role of toilets, their history and the sewage system (aka Poo-topia).
Not only do readers learn about poo, in a fun way, but how different internal parts of the human body work. For example, it looks at teeth and their function and what different teeth do. Did you know that snails have up to 12,000 teeth on their tongues??? I didn’t! Then it looks at the tongue, it is for more than sticking out and blowing raspberries, before moving on to the role of saliva – and speaking of saliva, that silk shirt you’re wearing, did you know that silk is actually a form of saliva made by silkworms, so you could say that you are wearing a shirt made of worm spit… eww! You will even find out why your stomach makes that gurgling noise when you are hungry… and it’s not your stomach!
People say that poo stinks.
Well they’re wrong!
– James Turner
Overall, this is one book that shouldn’t be dumped, it’s fantastic! Not only is it a fun tale, written by James Turner, about the journey of poo, packed with humour (although some bits might go over the head of younger readers, with jokes about a mushroom being a fun guy), but it is chockfull of factual information and extremely educational. It is packed full of puns and slapstick antics, with enough toilet puns to keep young readers (and probably their parents) snorting with laughter, this book proves that sometimes being a little immature is the secret to having a lot of fun (and enhancing your knowledge).
And then there are the illustrations by Steve May. The book wouldn’t be as much fun without them (and would be a text book not a graphic novel). The images are a splash of cartoon brilliance, perfectly capturing every squelch and squirm. The pages are alive with exaggerated reactions, and enough visual gags to keep even the most reluctant reader turning pages. Each character, whether friend or foe, oozes personality. Thankfully the images are not scratch and sniff!
But beneath the fun and giggles, it is very educational. It looks at human and animal biology as well as what happens to things that get flushed down the toilet.
In a world overflowing with superhero sagas and fantasy epics, Poo Crew Adventures: Journey to Poo-topia is a nice change. Its unapologetic silliness and seriously fun storytelling is great for getting reluctant readers to read as well as educating in a fun way. For kids who love comics, toilet humour, or simply a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this book is a must-flush… sorry, must-read!
I loved the silly fun and the educational aspects within the humour. The illustrations are vibrant and fun with the comic book style making it easy to read. I would say that is worthy of a standing ovation for making poo the hero of the day, but if poo is involved it’s probably best to be sitting, so let’s give it a 5* sitting ovation. Young Page Turners, get ready to giggle your way to Poo-topia and learn something new along the way! A clever blend of science, toilet humour and cartoons.
If you have never thought about how poo is made and what happens after “you’ve dropped the kids off at the pool” now you can in a fun, engaging way.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £7.99 (Paperback)
Available to buy from Amazon here.
PUBLISHER:
PUBLICATION DATE:
ISBN:
PRINT LENGTH:
COVER ART: