Vesuvius Poovius

by Kes Gray, Chris Mould

Poo is a problem in ancient Rome—and also a forbiddenus wordus. Vesuvius, the Roman inventor, has been trying to solve the pongy problem for many years with no luck. But one night he is struck by inspiration.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2003

About the author

Kes Gray is a bestselling, multi award-winning author of more than 70 books for children. He eats Ideaflakes for breakfast, spreads silliness on his toast and lives in a place called Different. Kes was the second bestselling picture book author in 2018.

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This light and hilarious story is set in Ancient Rome and is about an inventor called Vesuvius Poovius who is trying to solve the big problem of getting rid of human waste; in particular poo. Ancient Rome has a very serious problem of getting rid of poo, which is everywhere. Vesuvius comes up with the brilliant invention of the ‘Vesuvius Poovius Loovius’ or ‘Loo’ and needs to let the Emperor know about his brilliant idea. However, the Emperor has banned people from using the word poo to try and ignore the problem and everyone has to use nice words when mentioning poo, such as, marzipan and jewels. Therefore Vesuvius has to come up with a cunning plan to let the Emperor know about his invention. I really enjoy this story because of its comical nature and I believe it will really appeal to children, especially boys, because of its silliness and because it discusses poo which children generally find entertaining.

I believe this book would be suitable for children aged from 5-10 because of its comical aspects. For younger children it would be a good book to have read to them at story time. It’s a great book to have in a reading area for independent reading to really allow children to enjoy books and reading rather than seeing it as a chore. It could be quite inspirational for children to write creatively and perhaps make them think of reading and stories in a different light. Furthermore, it could be a fun way to introduce topics about the Romans and help children to understand the importance of hygiene.

[Vita · Rating 5 out of 5]

epic book.. a must read

[Hayley Morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? It's a book about poo, the age old struggle of society to manage the never-ending waste we create. Someone I worked with liked to tell kids that humans are little more than poo machines - food goes in one end, poo comes out the other.
A lot of people think it's vulgar to talk about poo but we all do it, and it will always be someone's job to manage everybody's business in the best way possible.
This book is cleverly written, funny and will appeal to many kids (and some adults too) while subtly educating them on the necessity of sewage management.

[Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOL read. Great picture book for kids; great illustrations

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

HYSTERICAL!