Review by SarahRW -- I'm Swimming in the Toilet... PLEAS...

[SarahRW]

[Following is a volunteer review of "I'm Swimming in the Toilet... PLEASE DON'T FLUSH!" by Len Foley.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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/i/I’m Swimming in the Toilet…PLEASE DON’T FLUSH!/i/ by Len Foley recounts the silly tale of a frog mistaking a tepid toilet for a refreshing dip in a pool. It includes numerous comical background characters, rhyming lines, and silly language only a child could find amusing. The author is also the illustrator.

If you can get past the not-so-subtle nods to various bodily functions, (it is set in a toilet after all!) this would be an okay book to read aloud to children. It’s a book for early readers, such as Pre-k and Kindergarten-age children. The rhyming couplets are good for phonemic awareness and predicting sounds. Parents could ask, “What sounds like ‘pool’?” Almost every picture includes some form of environmental print. For example, caution tape on the bathroom door, “Do Not Cross” tape on the toilet bowl, and various pictogram signs such as “No Swimming” (a person swimming in water with a red line across). Environmental print can help children identify sight words, letters, and emergency signs. At the ends of some of the rhyming couplets, the last word is in a different font color. Pg. 6: “Looky-looky here, a chilly blue /b/pool/b/[,] Where froggies take a dip and get real /b/cool/b/.” This can also help early readers recognize sight words.

The majority of the pages leave pauses for the reader to predict the next rhyming word or situation. When reading the story aloud, this allows the child to be a part of the story and try and predict what they think will happen next (reading comprehension!). Parents could ask, “What do you think the Frog will do?” or “What could have fallen in the water?” After the frog commences his adventure, the moral of the story is, “Pay attention to your surroundings and follow directions!”

I liked the way the author wrote the book to be read aloud and include the children in the story. Parents might be hesitant to read it, but children would like hearing their parents read aloud the funny words and toilet humor. The story would entertain a child, but it’s not a fantastic tale. The situation is ridiculous, and the illustrations are a bad combination of real images and drawings that do nothing to help the story’s appeal. I give this book /b/2 out of 4 stars/b/.

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I'm Swimming in the Toilet... PLEASE DON'T FLUSH!
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