Dirt Boy

by Erik Jon Slangerup, John Manders (Illustrator)

Fister Farnello loves dirt so much that he escapes the bath to run off to the woods. He has the most rotten and delightful time getting even dirtier, especially after he makes friends with Dirt Man, a giant who hasn't taken a bath in one thousand years.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Family

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Erik Jon Slangerup is the author of MOLLY AND THE MACHINE, his debut middle-grade novel about a young girl up against a giant robot who kidnaps her brother, out June 7, 2022. The sequel, MOLLY AND THE MUTANTS, will follow in 2023. The books are part of a 1980s action adventure series set in the hills of southern Ohio.

Erik has also written several picture books, including the award-winning DIRT BOY. In 2017, he co-created STORYSNACKER, a read-aloud storytime app ranked “Top 5 Apps in the World for Family and Kids.” Erik Lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, children, and semi-neurotic wiener-beagle mix.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my perennial storytime faves for older kids.

[Allie Mueller]

Type: Picture book
Literary genre: Fiction, fantasy
Awards: Volunteer State Book Award
Summary: Fister Farnello loves playing in the dirt and hates taking baths. One day, he escapes his bath in a cloud of dust, and meets a dirt giant in the woods. The two become great friends, and Fister gets dirtier and dirtier. He gets so dirty that even the birds living in his hair can't take the smell anymore. The giant still thinks he smells good, so good, in fact, that he tries to eat Fister. Fister escapes and runs to his mother, who at first, can't recognize him. She sprays him with the hose and realizes that he is her son. Fister finally lets his mom give him a bath, and finds a new appreciation for being clean.
Critique: This story was very cute, funny, and entertaining. I can relate to the character in the book, in that I hated taking baths when I was a kid, and loved to play in dirt. I know how he must have felt when his mom forced him to take a bath! I remember being angry at my mom for the same thing. Being an adult, I know that Fister's mother wasn't being mean by making him take a bath, she was just taking care of him, just like my mom was taking care of me.
Questions: Pg 3: Does Fister like taking baths? How do you know? Pg. 18: What do you think the dirt man is going to do? Pg 25: How do you think Fister feels about taking a bath now?
Craft elements: This would be perfect for teaching visualization. The author uses a lot of descriptive language when introducing the characters. A teacher could have kids draw each character without looking at the illustrations in the book.

[Shelly Mundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

boy named Fister Farnello is always getting dirty. To avoid having to take a bath he runs away and makes friends with Dirt Man, a very dirty giant. Fister gets so dirty that he has mice and birds living in his hair, mushrooms growing between his toes, and moss growing in his bellybutton. After days of frolicking in the dirt with Dirt Man, and even the birds and mice are complaining of the smell coming off of Fister, he decides he'd better go home. At first his mother doesn't recognize him, and thinking him a monster, sprays him with the hose. That's when she realizes the monster is her long lost son and takes him straight to the bathtub. "It took twenty-three bars of soap, sixteen bottles of shampoo, one hundred and seventy-nine gallons of bathwater, forty-four million bubbles, and eleven tubes of toothpaste to finally get Fister Farnello clean." And so the moral of the story is that it is OK to be clean. This book is primarily written for children in grades k-3. Heck, who'm I kidding? I loved it!

[Samantha Gacke]

A little boy who likes dirt goes to live in the woods with the Dirt Man until the Dirt Man decides the boy smells delicious.

Dirt Boy takes getting dirty to a whole new level! The boy is probably pretty relatable to children, because he does not like to take baths, but he would rather run away than take a bath. Many kids would probably enjoy the things that happen to him after he runs away. They would probably get a laugh when mushrooms start popping out of his feet and birds start living in his hair. They would also probably like how difficult it becomes to finally clean him after living in the woods for so long. This story is pretty wild and out there, but it was one that I absolutely loved!

[Chantel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of our all-time favorite picture books about Fister Farnello who hates taking baths. He hates baths so much that one day he runs away from his "clean and mean" mother. Soon he's growing mushrooms between his toes and playing all day with Dirt Man. Can he escape from this moldy-breathed existence?

[Alana Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ew! This book is a perfectly disgusting read for dirty children who don't like baths. Even though it shows the need for hygiene it still accepts that it's ok for children to play in the dirt sometimes too. Great Illustrations.

[Jodi Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is AMAZING! It is also very DISGUSTING!! But students love it when I read it! The sounds and illustrations are very detailed and fit perfectly with the story. It also teaches students about the importance of hygiene. A fun book for the classroom.

[Leisl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story written by a dear friend's husband.

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book partly because I love the author. He is so funny. Cute book for kids about taking baths.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is fun for kids, especially boys. What I liked the most was the illustrations. Recommended as a "check out from the library" book.

[deena kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dear Sister-in-Law gave us this book years ago. It is such a delight. The illustrations are amazing. ("amazing" stated by my 12 year old son.)

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic illustrations; concept appeals a lot to a 3-year old boy.

[Savannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best hygiene book Ive ever read! An entertaining story of a young boy who doesn't want to take a bath. It has a spotless ending though because eventually he gets cleaned up. Very cute!

[Erroll Treslan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story. Your kids will never complain about taking a bath again!

[Susanne Davison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun way to start spring!

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer favorite of many of my daycamps! The illustrations are wonderful and the tale if just perfect for a summer story on a camping trip or nature hike!

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

When students in my class looked at the cover for our book there were lots of "ewwww! Gross!" This continued when we started reading....but then a hush came over the class. Who doesn't like getting really dirty sometimes?! And imagine meeting a monster, Dirt Man! We were totally sucked into this story.

[zunggg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Filthiness comes alive in this energetic tale of the eponymous cur and his clean-freak mother. The grime oozes from every page, and it is, as the previous LT reviewer succinctly puts it, a "funny concept", but I can't see this becoming a favourite.

[Lisa Houston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for visualization.

[Rebecca Caufman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dirty boy runs away from home when his mom tries to give him a bath and he goes to live with a dirty monster until that monster tries to eat him.

[Marguerite Pagnotta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal review:

-wash up or the dirt monster will eat you (avoiding responsibility will catch up to you/ can’t always do what you want)
-silly/scary
-fun read

[Chris Schoettmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about a boy who loves dirt so much that he escapes the bathtub to run off to the deep woods. There he has a great time getting as dirty as he wants. He becomes friends with Dirt Man, a giant who hasn't taken a bath in one thousand years. The boy eventually decides it is best to go home to his mother and takes a bath and remembers how good being clean can be.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story about a little boy who loves being dirty and runs away from home to avoid a bath. Out in the forest he meets his match in dirtiness in Dirt Man the Giant. But Dirt Man isn't as benevolent as he might seem at first. In the end, Dirt Boy learns to like being dirty and clean.

Pretty funny illustrations.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review: https://hiplibrariansbookblog.com/200...

[bernadette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the illustrations but the words aren't as good. Still an entertaining read for the toddler about playing in the dirt and not taking baths.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun read aloud to do with voices of the giant and the mom. Lots of drama with the birds complaining about the smell of the boy, and the mushrooms popping out from between his toes.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute story about a boy and a bath, or lack thereof. Every child will love this book.

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny!