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Sometimes You Barf
Everybody barfs. Dogs, cats, chickens, alligators, and even you. It happens to everyone, and sometimes it even happens . . . at school.
With her characteristic humor and compassion, Nancy Carlson helps young readers through what is often a scary and embarrassing rite of passage. Sometimes you barf. But it's OK. You get better!
With her characteristic humor and compassion, Nancy Carlson helps young readers through what is often a scary and embarrassing rite of passage. Sometimes you barf. But it's OK. You get better!
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
April 10, 2019
according to the book flap, nancy carlson has been writing and illustrating books for more that FOUR DECADES!!! and after more than 60 books, she finally got around to writing one about vomit.
better late than never!
so, i'm pretty much in love with this book. like most offerings for the picture-book-aged crowd, this one contains a lesson, but instead of the typical "don't be racist," or "no one likes a bully!" message, this book addresses a more immediately-pressing and under-addressed social problem: vomiting in school.
because, yeah, to a kid, it is totally embarrassing to puke in front of everyone. when you grow up, you learn that a well-timed puke can get you out of some difficult situations:
but, as carlson notes, when you barf at school, be prepared, because everyone will go nuts!
and no one wants to be the cause of so much frenzied/disgusted attention.
but the child is reassured that everything barfs sometimes, as these outstanding pictures prove:
and since it can't be controlled, it is therefore nothing to be ashamed of, so just let it out, don't blush, and you'll feel much better!
i don't know when the appropriate time to gift or read this book aloud to a child would be. is this to be employed after they have barfed to tamp down their feelings of social disgrace?? or should it be read at the start of flu season every year, to prevent those feelings of disgrace in the first place?? or is it meant to change the way we see barf as a culture, to be read to large library groups of kids so that the next barf-instance in school is treated as a celebration and no one will feel compelled to run and hide in any lockers in disgust. (NANCY!!!) no one knows - it's your choice! but i do know that there is not nearly enough barf in children's books, and kids looooove gross things and will probably laugh a lot no matter when you read it to them.
and the solid, matter-of-fact conclusion??:
come to my blog!
better late than never!
so, i'm pretty much in love with this book. like most offerings for the picture-book-aged crowd, this one contains a lesson, but instead of the typical "don't be racist," or "no one likes a bully!" message, this book addresses a more immediately-pressing and under-addressed social problem: vomiting in school.
because, yeah, to a kid, it is totally embarrassing to puke in front of everyone. when you grow up, you learn that a well-timed puke can get you out of some difficult situations:
but, as carlson notes, when you barf at school, be prepared, because everyone will go nuts!
and no one wants to be the cause of so much frenzied/disgusted attention.
but the child is reassured that everything barfs sometimes, as these outstanding pictures prove:
and since it can't be controlled, it is therefore nothing to be ashamed of, so just let it out, don't blush, and you'll feel much better!
i don't know when the appropriate time to gift or read this book aloud to a child would be. is this to be employed after they have barfed to tamp down their feelings of social disgrace?? or should it be read at the start of flu season every year, to prevent those feelings of disgrace in the first place?? or is it meant to change the way we see barf as a culture, to be read to large library groups of kids so that the next barf-instance in school is treated as a celebration and no one will feel compelled to run and hide in any lockers in disgust. (NANCY!!!) no one knows - it's your choice! but i do know that there is not nearly enough barf in children's books, and kids looooove gross things and will probably laugh a lot no matter when you read it to them.
and the solid, matter-of-fact conclusion??:
come to my blog!
February 5, 2017
Neo enjoyed the silliness of this book, as he knows we all feel poorly sometimes. As the book states, everybody barfs!
April 19, 2017
We all remember that one day...it happened at school (for me it was 4th grade after eating a tuna sandwich) and we were SO EMBARRESSED! Great book that will help kids get through this rite of passage.
September 3, 2014
Everybody pukes, but what I want to know and this book doesn't tell me, is why cats always have to do it in several different places.
January 31, 2015
As an adult, I still find barfing very unsettling.
October 29, 2014
A fun picture book about throwing up?
It doesn't seem possible, does it? But this book is actually cute--and guaranteed to make every kid who has ever thrown up in front of classmates feel much better. Strikes just the right note between a great gross-out factor and a reassuring tone.
It doesn't seem possible, does it? But this book is actually cute--and guaranteed to make every kid who has ever thrown up in front of classmates feel much better. Strikes just the right note between a great gross-out factor and a reassuring tone.
January 10, 2015
3.5 stars. Such a random and hilarious book, but the message is true. Sometimes you barf, but life will go on.
February 10, 2015
This entire book is on the subject of barfing. A young girl walks you through what happens from when you first get a flu bug, to feeling sick to your stomach and trying not to barf to finally barfing all over the place (even at school) because you simply can't help it. There are plenty of illustrations showing how everyone barfs (and by that she means many different animals including her dog who barfs up socks).
The illustrations are colorful and fun and done in such a way that you don't get totally grossed out.
I couldn't resist reading this book after reading the title. The story made me laugh. Because truly, everybody barfs and it can be terribly embarrassing. The girl tells it like it is without being overly gross. She worries about going back to school, but the other kids are just glad she is back in school.
I don't know that this is a great read-a-loud story but a definite winner for school age children through third or fourth grade. What kid doesn't want to read about barf?
The illustrations are colorful and fun and done in such a way that you don't get totally grossed out.
I couldn't resist reading this book after reading the title. The story made me laugh. Because truly, everybody barfs and it can be terribly embarrassing. The girl tells it like it is without being overly gross. She worries about going back to school, but the other kids are just glad she is back in school.
I don't know that this is a great read-a-loud story but a definite winner for school age children through third or fourth grade. What kid doesn't want to read about barf?
November 21, 2014
In this book Nancy Carlson reassures children that sometimes they will get sick and barf (sometimes in public) and that ultimately, they will get better and over their initial embarrassment. This book was not as hilarious as I hoped it would be, but it was still pretty funny and I could tell that the story of the young girl barfing in school must have been based on Nancy Carlson's childhood experience. The discussion of animal barf was also quite accurate and funny. I think this book will empower younger elementary aged children who are worried about barfing. It would also be a funny read aloud for this age group. Although Monroe County Public Library shelves this as fiction, I would shelve it as nonfiction since it is trying to teach kids about illness.
October 13, 2014
The book's title and cover definitely caught my attention on NetGalley! There's a little shock value here - I don't think I've seen many books on throwing up - but it really is hilarious. And it can provide some comfort to younger readers, since it can be an embarrassing or scary experience to get sick at school (believe me, I've been there!). The illustrations were just gross enough but not too graphic, and I loved how the flu bug became more transparent over time. I'm glad I discovered this book!
August 28, 2014
Sometimes You Barf is the PERFECT book to read to kids who have barfed at school and are nervous to return. It is also perfect for kids who love to look at pictures of people barfing. This would be a fun read aloud in any classroom, and a great way to talk about procedures if/when you feel like barfing!
Thank to Net Galley and Lerner Publishing Group for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank to Net Galley and Lerner Publishing Group for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
October 24, 2014
I was prepared to be grossed out by this book because even though it is by veteran author Nancy Carlson, I just hate the word barf! Yuck! I could barely bring myself to open the book. However the story is so kind and funny, sympathizing with a poor girl who throws up at school (one of my biggest fears, even now with my own kids), you can't help but feel comforted - we've all been there! Even the illustrations of people and animals getting sick manage to be cute.
August 17, 2016
HA! Sometimes you barf. Totally true. A good story to explain to kids that it is just something that happens to all of us. Kind of like "Everybody Poops". I think my favorite part was the inclusion of an interesting made-up fact :)
January 26, 2015
Not just YOU, but everyone barfs sometimes. Cats,dogs, platypuses, clowns...they all barf.
For most kids, this will be just a really funny book about barfing but I can also see it being super reassuring to those kids who have actually barfed on their math test and were mortified by it.
For most kids, this will be just a really funny book about barfing but I can also see it being super reassuring to those kids who have actually barfed on their math test and were mortified by it.
February 2, 2015
Okay, so right off the bat I have to acknowledge the obvious - this is a gross topic. Having said that, I also have to say that kids will love it. From finding the extra sock after the dog barfs to Nancy hiding in her locker to avoid seeing it, the kids will giggle throughout.
June 6, 2015
Bookaday #4. You know the kids will love this book... Everyone barfs. Love the reaction when vomit occurs in math class, the teacher calling code red and the janitor's biohazard suit. The story humorously calms any fear of school time vomit.
October 22, 2014
Because barf.
July 21, 2015
I barfed on my desk in 4th grade. True story.
January 9, 2015
yep. barfing still scares me.
August 6, 2015
Clever glimpse into the world of vomit. Children can learn that throwing up in class is not the end of the world.
July 26, 2019
It's something that happens to all (most) of us sooner or later. Nancy Carlson offers a few facts, words of encouragement and humorous illustrations to help us all feel a little better.
February 1, 2017
A picture book that tackles the universal fact that everyone barfs sometimes. The funny illustrations and gentle words help to make this topic less scary for the little ones.
October 16, 2014
This book opens up with pictures of all sorts of animals (and snowmen and people) with green faces looking like they are just about ready to barf. In fact, the green around the face is normal for illustrating that awful feeling you get when you want to barf. And as this book explains, everybody barfs. Archie, a little girl’s dog, shows some signs of what happens when you are about to barf. Then the girl starts to get sick at school and readers can see what some of the signs of needing to barf are for kids (and grownups). The one thing that is sad about this book is that it only explains one reason for why a kid might barf (getting a flu bug). But there are kids I know who might barf because they get car sick or might eat something that doesn’t agree with them. And babies barf all the time. The book does do a good job about helping kids realize that barfing is a normal part of a person’s (or an animal’s) life. But there is only one explanation given as to why to barf. The illustrations are great. The barf doesn’t look so gross that readers will barf because of seeing the barf (and thank goodness this isn’t a scratch and sniff kind of book) but it is gross enough that boys will like the gross factor of looking at the green faces and the “barf.” For any of the young readers who are nervous about being sick or barfing, this is a perfect book to read. And then they can barf with confidence (when the time is right) and hopefully “[w]ith any luck, [they] will barf on your math test.”
November 1, 2014
Everyone barfs at one time or another, even animals. This book does a great job of letting kids know it's okay to feel like you're going to barf. It's even okay if you barf at school. Eventually you will feel better and life will go on. The illustrations are fun and filled with a lovely green color that perfectly symbolizes that queasy feeling you get right before you barf. Luckily the pictures are not so detailed that the reader will barf just from looking at them. Kids who like gross things will get a kick out of reading this book and the idea of so much barfing. The author tells some of the warning signs one might feel as well as how to tell if your dog is about to barf. However it would have been nice if there had been mention of other things besides the flu that could make a kid barf, such as being in a car or airplane, riding a roller coaster, or even eating too much candy. Overall a fun book that parents might cringe at, but kids will appreciate.
January 7, 2019
I was a sick kid in Brentwood NY growing up. Not sickly or anything but I did puke as often as twice a year. I was fortunate to have had an older brother encourage me with the fact that when you throw up, it gets rid of germs in your stomach, and it feels a lot better. Sadly, no kids books were made in the 70s (that I know of) that discussed the subject of the value of vomiting gunk. Hell, they never even talked of puking on Mr Rogers or Sesame Street, or on cartoon shows. Thank God for the modern era, in which a compassionate writer named Nancy Carlson finally gives kids the funny tribute to poot toot we all deserve. Nowadays kids can be comforted by the message of how normal barf can be. It was four decades in the making since my birth in 1968. The wait was worth it. Let kids know in print what four decades ago I got in speech from a great stepbrother: to err is human, to purge is divinely human!!!
Four stars
Feel free to let loose cos this puke book ROCKS!
Four stars
Feel free to let loose cos this puke book ROCKS!
February 3, 2015
The end papers are filled with small pictures of all kinds of animals, including humans and snowmen, who look a little like, well, they’re going to barf. Funny book that I’m sure the young ones will love. My granddaughter, five, talks with real seriousness about throwing up, has the right bucket and everything ready sometimes. This story centers on a little girl who is at school when that awful flu bug hits, and another poor girls runs to hide in her locker. Others hang out and watch. My only problem with the book is the attitude is that school is bad, and in a way, the girl is lucky to get sick and miss school.
October 21, 2014
Age: Kindergarten-2nd grade
Familiar Experience: Blowing chunks, barfing, feeding your young, retching, and (my favorite) thunder-chunder rainbow parfait
Anyways, this is a lovely bibliotherapeutic look at barfing in public. Carlson also shows the potential embarrassment of going back and how no one will be mad at you for barfing.
Nonfiction or fiction? Well, there is an "interesting made-up fact" about lizards and Carlson depicts all animals turning green before they barf and we all know how incorrect that presentation is.
Familiar Experience: Blowing chunks, barfing, feeding your young, retching, and (my favorite) thunder-chunder rainbow parfait
Anyways, this is a lovely bibliotherapeutic look at barfing in public. Carlson also shows the potential embarrassment of going back and how no one will be mad at you for barfing.
Nonfiction or fiction? Well, there is an "interesting made-up fact" about lizards and Carlson depicts all animals turning green before they barf and we all know how incorrect that presentation is.
March 9, 2015
A sweet, if barf filled, reminder that it's ok to be sick, that it basically sucks and that you'll probably feel better soon. And while I can't really agree with the main character's rather blase attitude about the number of things her dog is puking up, it does work as a strange little intro into the wide world of barfing.
Also, this book has what is probably the cutest barfing animal menagerie out there.
Also, this book has what is probably the cutest barfing animal menagerie out there.
October 1, 2014
Received a free ebook copy from NetGalley.
An interesting story subject that is sure to make kids giggle. The text is simple and straight to the point. Everyone, including people and animals, barfs sometimes and then you get over it. Illustrations are charming and not over the top or gross. A good read as students in our area have been sick earlier than usual with some sort of bug.
An interesting story subject that is sure to make kids giggle. The text is simple and straight to the point. Everyone, including people and animals, barfs sometimes and then you get over it. Illustrations are charming and not over the top or gross. A good read as students in our area have been sick earlier than usual with some sort of bug.
April 15, 2015
This is the book for that kid who got sick at school, threw up, and is terrified to return. This is the book for the kid who will do that, and it's the book for the grownups who remember having been that kid (or had some similar bodily fluid accident). It's also great for anyone with emetophobia, the fear of vomiting. Funny, disarming, and reassuring -- sometimes we barf.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews