Sometimes You Barf by Nancy Carlson
My rating: 5/5 cats
according to the book flap, nancy carlson has been writing and illustrating books for more that FOUR DECADES!!! and after more than 60 books, she finally got around to writing one about vomit.
better late than never!
so, i’m pretty much in love with this book. like most offerings for the picture-book-aged crowd, this one contains a lesson, but instead of the typical “don’t be racist,” or “no one likes a bully!” message, this book addresses a more immediately-pressing and under-addressed social problem: vomiting in school.
because, yeah, to a kid, it is totally embarrassing to puke in front of everyone. when you grow up, you learn that a well-timed puke can get you out of some difficult situations:
but, as carlson notes, when you barf at school, be prepared, because everyone will go nuts!
and no one wants to be the cause of so much frenzied/disgusted attention.
but the child is reassured that everything barfs sometimes, as these outstanding pictures prove:
and since it can’t be controlled, it is therefore nothing to be ashamed of, so just let it out, don’t blush, and you’ll feel much better!
i don’t know when the appropriate time to gift or read this book aloud to a child would be. is this to be employed after they have barfed to tamp down their feelings of social disgrace?? or should it be read at the start of flu season every year, to prevent those feelings of disgrace in the first place?? or is it meant to change the way we see barf as a culture, to be read to large library groups of kids so that the next barf-instance in school is treated as a celebration and no one will feel compelled to run and hide in any lockers in disgust. (NANCY!!!) no one knows – it’s your choice! but i do know that there is not nearly enough barf in children’s books, and kids looooove gross things and will probably laugh a lot no matter when you read it to them.
and the solid, matter-of-fact conclusion??:
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