On Your Potty! - Virginia Miller

Published in 1991, just at the right time for both my eldest children to enjoy when they were being potty trained.

THE STORY

The story centres around Bartholemew, a little bear who can sometimes be very good, and sometimes be a tad reluctant!

It starts with George, the big bear, padding softly to Bartholomew's bed to see if he is awake. Wheh he askes if he is awake, he is greeted with a "Nah!"

Bah gets out of be but when George askes him if he is up, again, he gets the "Nah".

Children get a bit concerned by the fact that Bah is just refusing to do things, and especially because of the way he says it, and I think they believe there will be trouble ahead!

Again, when Bah is asked if he wants his potty, the answer is the same, until "Nah, nah, nah", and he begins to kick the potty around the room. George shouts at this stage to tell him to get "ON YOUR POTTY" and even Bah looks a bit worried, so he sits on his potty and really really tries, but nothing happens.

george, being the pleasant bear he is, looks concerned but tells him to go and play outside, which Bah does, answering the request that he be good with the usual "nah".

Bah is playing outside when he suddenly thinks about the potty, and he runs as fast as he can, and reaches his potty just in time, to be given a big hug from George.

THE ILLUSTRATIONS

The illustarations are great. Bah has this really sullen little expression on his face, and it seems he is going to be up to no good at all.

The bears both look soft and cuddly, especially George who just looks the picture of concern and adoration.

Throughout the book, the facial expressions tell the story for us, with bah being the surly child, george the concerned parent, but when Bah is running for his potty, boy does he run! We knopw he is going quickly because the pictures are no longer double page spreads but are suddenly smaller pictures spread out over two pages. the expression on his face when he gets to the potty in the nick of time is pure relief.

PRICE, AVAILABILITY AND OTHER INFORMATION

A real bargain- pick it up used from amazon from 1p!

Published in 2000, my copy is by Walker books, ISBN 0-7445-3141-1

The story is also available in a book with 5 stories all contained in one book

OTHER BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR

There are lots of books featuring George and Batrtholomew, usually with a theme...

Get into Bed
In a Minute
Be Gentle

WHAT I THOUGHT

Although I don't like the way Bah shouts "nah" all the time, this adds to the appeal of the book, and indiactes in alot of ways how children and parents and carers interact.

Bah is a totally lovable little bear, and if you read some of the other books, he is not always this recalcitrant- sometimes he is very very good!

My two eldest children loved this book, especially when they were being potty trained as it is a perfect observation of life with a toddler, and it appealed to them because they were familiar with the theme.

the pictures are excellent, and just seem to flow, with minimum text needed, and life given to the characters with speech bubbles. When George is shouting, the text goes huge ,a nd when Bah speks in a tiny voice, the text is small. This begins to give children an idea that text has meaning.

A great book for your bookshelf, especially if you have a toddler.

Thanks for reading

Daniela xx