cover image Poopendous

Poopendous

Artie Bennett, illus. by Mike Moran. Blue Apple (Random, dist.), $16.99 (36p) ISBN 978-1-60905-190-7

Wearing safari-ready attire, mustachioed Professor Pip Poopdeck takes readers on a fearless expedition to the heart of fecal matter. Bennett, whose 2009 The Butt Book inhabited similar territory, addresses this subject with a nimble rhyme: “Rabbit pellets, raccoon tubes,/ Owl whitewash, and wombat cubes./ Camel poop is desert-dry./ Wet poop comes from birds on high.” Besides being a perennially funny topic of conversation for kids, poop has its uses, too, from transporting seeds to serving as fertilizer: “Poop enriches soil that’s poor./ Grow umpteen beans and greens galore!” Moran’s vibrant, Cartoon Network–ready digital art features a pair of children accompanying the professor and, of course, a bevy of animals doing their duty. There are kernels of wisdom to be found in Poopdeck’s lecture, but the main point is entertainment. Ages 4–up. (June)