I am sure Dawn McMillan and Ross Kinnaird are lovely people. However, this picture book, one I Need a New Butt!, did nothing for me. Something like this should be a gas. A real blow out. But sadly, nobody should toot their horn about it. I consider myself well versed in “butt jokes” (especially if there is a fart involved). I must have been a 10-year-old boy in a former life as I certain have that scents of humor. Yet, there was nothing new or (frankly) funny about I Need a New Butt. Even the illustrations fell flat.
Our narrator one day realizes there is a crack in his butt. What is he to do? Can he …. and a serious of things he could try and do to fix it ensues. Everything from an armor-plated butt to a rocket butt to a robot butt is considered and rejected. Finally, there is a solution to this cavernous issue.
The publisher review says, “hilarious rhymes and delightful illustrations” and yes it has rhyming and yes it has illustrations. But hilarious? (Sometimes.) Delightful? Not for this viewer. The cartoonish images of a plumber’s crack are a as old as the moon itself. The kid himself is unrealistic, plastic looking even. The colors awkward and unpleasant to look at.
There is a sequel, I Broke My Butt!, yet I am not sure if I am enough of a cheeky reader to continue on with another. However, with all that, the right little stinker will laugh their butt off due to the quirky nature of the theme.
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