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The Princess and the Potty
The king and queen are at their wit's end -- there's not a potty in the land that pleases the princess. In their comical look at toilet training, Wendy Cheyette Lewison and Rick Brown turn an all-too-familiar dilemma into a royal romp.
40 pages, Paperback
First published January 6, 1994
About the author
Wendy Cheyette Lewison
86 books16 followersWendy Cheyette Lewison has written many books for children, including a Bank Street College Children's Book of the Year, Going to Sleep on the Farm. She lives in Westchester County, New York.
—(from Simon & Schuster's website)
—(from Simon & Schuster's website)
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
March 15, 2023
The illustrations for this book were soooo pretty and creative the images forever live in my mind
February 14, 2017
This is a story about a young princess in a castle long ago. The princess has reached the age to be potty trained, but no potty in the land pleases her. However, later on, she sees her mother’s beautiful pantalettes, and instantaneously needs some for herself. Her mother is very pleased and decided to take her shopping for some. The princess is in love with her new pantalettes and goes about her day wearing them until she needs to use the restroom. The princess scurries around and goes to the nearest potty available. This astonished her parents because, somehow, the normal potty pleased the princess. The princess continued to use the normal potty and ended up very pleased.
Some of the major themes in this book include not taking anything for granted, not everyone is able to be pleased, and individuality.
This children’s book is very personal to me and has been one of my favorites for a very long time. Before I was able to read, I was very intrigued with the colors the illustrator used. So, I would just tell the story how I imagined it, without reading it, but just looking at the pictures. It helped me through my potty training days and a few years later, helped my sister as well.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has a child that needs to be potty trained. I believe that it shows a good message of the stages every child goes through and how good it feels to achieve this part in becoming a “big girl.” I believe it also has a good message for the parents as well because a parent can do and do and encourage the child, and the child isn’t pleased. However, when the parent least expects it, the child gives in and is independent.
Some of the major themes in this book include not taking anything for granted, not everyone is able to be pleased, and individuality.
This children’s book is very personal to me and has been one of my favorites for a very long time. Before I was able to read, I was very intrigued with the colors the illustrator used. So, I would just tell the story how I imagined it, without reading it, but just looking at the pictures. It helped me through my potty training days and a few years later, helped my sister as well.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has a child that needs to be potty trained. I believe that it shows a good message of the stages every child goes through and how good it feels to achieve this part in becoming a “big girl.” I believe it also has a good message for the parents as well because a parent can do and do and encourage the child, and the child isn’t pleased. However, when the parent least expects it, the child gives in and is independent.
March 6, 2019
In this story, The Princess is not pleased by her potty and would much rather wear her royal diapers. The king and queen are concerned for their daughter and for what others would think, so they begin a search for a beautiful and exciting potties that would please their little princess, but she was not interested in any of them. They even consult their royal advisors, but the advisors can only tell them that the princess will not use the potty until she is ready. One day the princess sees her mother's beautiful pantaloons and she wanted a pair of her own to wear instead of her her diapers! Will wearing royal pantaloons finally convince the princess to use one of her many potties?
This book is perfect for potty training a stubborn little one who does not want to use their potty. Its humor and illustrations will delight children ages 2-5. With the themes of trying new things and being open-minded to change, children will feel encouraged to sit on the potty and try! I remember loving this story when I was little and wishing I had a silly glow in the dark potty like the princess.
This book is perfect for potty training a stubborn little one who does not want to use their potty. Its humor and illustrations will delight children ages 2-5. With the themes of trying new things and being open-minded to change, children will feel encouraged to sit on the potty and try! I remember loving this story when I was little and wishing I had a silly glow in the dark potty like the princess.
May 16, 2014
A book with some of the familiar things we are encountering, written into a well-spun fairy tale of a Princess and her potty. As the wise man says, though, "the princess will use the potty when it pleases her to use the potty." Some things cannot be rushed, and this book is a fun reminder of that. Highly recommended to parents who are struggling though that difficult stage.
July 10, 2019
This was a page turner!! I wasn’t sure what would happen in the kingdom. I do have one question... what happened to all of the potties that were made?? I love this story because my daughter refused to use the potty. It was the one thing she had true control over.
January 13, 2008
At the end, the princess is having a snack and needs to use the plain potty. I like how it was all solved at the end.
May 14, 2008
Great Potty training book. Loved it.
January 14, 2010
really cute, the princess goes when she is ready to go!
June 29, 2011
Really fun picture book about a princess who won't use a potty...not any potty in the whole kingdom. Fun read. :)
July 26, 2013
This is a great book about a princess that has no desire to use the potty (sound familiar?). She decides to go potty on her own terms. Gives me a speck of hope...
December 11, 2013
Best book ever!
August 12, 2018
1.) I don't like reading books to my children that give them examples of ways they could be defiant. They come up with plenty of ideas on their own; they don't need more. If sitting on the toilet is not a area of challenge in your home, don't bother reading this book to your child. She may follow the princess's example and decide she doesn't like using a particular potty/potties in general for whatever whimsical reason.
2.) I don't like books in which the parents are namby-pambies who capitulate to their children's (toddler or even preschooler) whims, especially regarding something essential like peeing in the potty. I don't like reading my children books in which the parents demonstrate that they are able to be manipulated. I mean, when we got to the part about the parents searching the kingdom for potties their daughter will use, I wanted to throw up. This is what is wrong with modern parenting.
3.) I think a lot of the humor in this book is aimed at the parents who will be reading it and who, unfortunately, will be able to identify with 1) capricious tyrants deciding they won't pee on the potty and 2) being manipulated by these capricious tyrants. One of the parents' dilemmas centers around their reputation to uphold: "What would their neighbors say in the kingdom next door?" I won't deny that my first thought, when my own capricious tyrant is trying to manipulate me, is often about my own reputation among my parenting peers. So I'll give the author one star for how she "gets it." Ultimately, though, it's annoying, because I'm not reading this book to commiserate with other parents. I'm reading this book to introduce my child to the idea of peeing in the potty, and she doesn't need examples of how to get away with defiance.
4.) I'm irritated by the "royal wise man's" advice (which I kept hoping might be proven to be silly later in the story, but it seems to be the guiding principle behind the book!): "The princess will use the potty when it pleases her to use the potty." So many modern parents go this route, completely uncomfortable with the idea that as the parents, it is our job to teach our children skills like how to pee in the potty, which necessitates that we, not they, decide when it's time to use the potty. This princess - like so many children today - is allowed to be a little tyrant. Again - my daughter doesn't need to hear this idea that she only needs to go to the potty if it pleases her! Sometimes it pleases her to run right up to Daddy while he mows the lawn. But I don't send her inside only if it pleases her. It's my job to keep her safe, which sometimes means she has to do things that don't please her. Sitting on the potty will sometimes fall under the same rule of thumb.
5.) If only a pretty pair of "pantalettes" was enough to convince a child to use the toilet 100% of the time perfectly. It's just not that simple.
So - this would be an amusing read for parents if their precious little princesses were giving them a run for their money by defiantly refusing to use the toilet. However, it's a terrible manual for what actually works, and it's a terrible example for the listening child.
2.) I don't like books in which the parents are namby-pambies who capitulate to their children's (toddler or even preschooler) whims, especially regarding something essential like peeing in the potty. I don't like reading my children books in which the parents demonstrate that they are able to be manipulated. I mean, when we got to the part about the parents searching the kingdom for potties their daughter will use, I wanted to throw up. This is what is wrong with modern parenting.
3.) I think a lot of the humor in this book is aimed at the parents who will be reading it and who, unfortunately, will be able to identify with 1) capricious tyrants deciding they won't pee on the potty and 2) being manipulated by these capricious tyrants. One of the parents' dilemmas centers around their reputation to uphold: "What would their neighbors say in the kingdom next door?" I won't deny that my first thought, when my own capricious tyrant is trying to manipulate me, is often about my own reputation among my parenting peers. So I'll give the author one star for how she "gets it." Ultimately, though, it's annoying, because I'm not reading this book to commiserate with other parents. I'm reading this book to introduce my child to the idea of peeing in the potty, and she doesn't need examples of how to get away with defiance.
4.) I'm irritated by the "royal wise man's" advice (which I kept hoping might be proven to be silly later in the story, but it seems to be the guiding principle behind the book!): "The princess will use the potty when it pleases her to use the potty." So many modern parents go this route, completely uncomfortable with the idea that as the parents, it is our job to teach our children skills like how to pee in the potty, which necessitates that we, not they, decide when it's time to use the potty. This princess - like so many children today - is allowed to be a little tyrant. Again - my daughter doesn't need to hear this idea that she only needs to go to the potty if it pleases her! Sometimes it pleases her to run right up to Daddy while he mows the lawn. But I don't send her inside only if it pleases her. It's my job to keep her safe, which sometimes means she has to do things that don't please her. Sitting on the potty will sometimes fall under the same rule of thumb.
5.) If only a pretty pair of "pantalettes" was enough to convince a child to use the toilet 100% of the time perfectly. It's just not that simple.
So - this would be an amusing read for parents if their precious little princesses were giving them a run for their money by defiantly refusing to use the toilet. However, it's a terrible manual for what actually works, and it's a terrible example for the listening child.
May 1, 2023
Is your child unwilling to use their potty? So is this little Princess, which was reassuring and relatable to the anklebiter-audience.
I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow this from the only English language library in my neck of the woods (which is in Switzerland...) - OpenLibrary.org. If Penguin/Hachett, HarperCollins and Wiley succeed in shutting it down, they will prevent an English-speaking expat family from accessing library books altogether.
How many impoverished schools around the world rely upon OpenLibrary to access quality reading material for their students?!
Please keep this in mind when purchasing your next read - if you're not buying it secondhand from Better World Books or somewhere, you might want to check the PUBLISHER and see if it's Penguin (Puffin, Ladybird) or Hachette group, HarperCollins or Wiley and decide if you want to support what they are doing.....
Anyhoo - this was a helpful read for families for young children, and a funny one, and one I'd have real problems accessing if it weren't for archive.org and OpenLibrary. It gives another motivation for learning to go on the potty (hint: you might have to go out shopping to pick out some especially valued big-kid ginch). :)
I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow this from the only English language library in my neck of the woods (which is in Switzerland...) - OpenLibrary.org. If Penguin/Hachett, HarperCollins and Wiley succeed in shutting it down, they will prevent an English-speaking expat family from accessing library books altogether.
How many impoverished schools around the world rely upon OpenLibrary to access quality reading material for their students?!
Please keep this in mind when purchasing your next read - if you're not buying it secondhand from Better World Books or somewhere, you might want to check the PUBLISHER and see if it's Penguin (Puffin, Ladybird) or Hachette group, HarperCollins or Wiley and decide if you want to support what they are doing.....
Anyhoo - this was a helpful read for families for young children, and a funny one, and one I'd have real problems accessing if it weren't for archive.org and OpenLibrary. It gives another motivation for learning to go on the potty (hint: you might have to go out shopping to pick out some especially valued big-kid ginch). :)
April 13, 2023
I am currently potty training my third child and it's my first daughter who is potty training. Over the years my family has read a bunch of children's potty training stories and we just love this one. The Princess refuses to use a potty, she has better things to do. Everyone in the whole kingdom helps find the princess the perfect potty and the perfect pantalettes. Of course once the princess has the perfect pantalettes she can't get them dirty and finally uses a potty. The story is adorable and the pictures are so cute and fun.
November 12, 2019
An entertaining read for children and parents on the strenuous task of potty training.
December 8, 2019
4 stars only because this book captivated my daughter at age 2. She knew where to find it on the shelf at our local library, and we checked it out over & over. The story is pleasantly silly.
August 1, 2020
Another cute story of a princess that refuses to use her potty and her royal parents must find a way to entice her.
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April 21, 2025Childhood nostalgia go brrr
February 29, 2016
My son is the last in his class to be potty trained, and adamantly opposed to it. The pediatrician raises her eyebrows, teachers ask when I'm going to start, and worst of all he can't go in the ball pit at IKEA!
So in a desperate attempt to foster some sort of interest in potty training I checked out just about every single book and even (gasp) videos that our library has to offer on the subject.
And from that huge stack of books, this one is his favorite. Not even the potty "train" book can turn my normally transportation obsessed son's head. Something about a little person being in control of their own potty training schedule really resonates with him.
Well played kiddo - well played.
So in a desperate attempt to foster some sort of interest in potty training I checked out just about every single book and even (gasp) videos that our library has to offer on the subject.
And from that huge stack of books, this one is his favorite. Not even the potty "train" book can turn my normally transportation obsessed son's head. Something about a little person being in control of their own potty training schedule really resonates with him.
Well played kiddo - well played.
July 12, 2013
I LOVED this book growing up. I thought it was so funny that a princess got to pick which potty she wanted. After she tries many, she ends up loving a plain white toilet. It is a great book about how simple can be better. It also gives a lesson on choices and would be used great in incorporating classroom skills. It would be great in a primary grade classroom.
April 18, 2012
I really liked this potty book because it focused on the child directing potty training. In this case, the princess is uninterested in using the potty, but does have interest in panties, which is exactly like Natalie. This book was a very good fit for out family.
June 30, 2015
This is a potty book that I don't get tired of reading. It makes fun of how stressed out parents/caregivers get during potty training. It captures the quirky logic of little kids and you get to say "pantalettes" numerous times.
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July 12, 2013The Princess and the Potty is a great book to teach a lesson that all young girls need to learn. This created a great incentive for girls to learn their lesson in using the potty. I think it is great to make fun out of something serious so that children are more excited about the experience.
January 29, 2015
The story was annoyingly cute. As a mother it was rather predictable because, well I've potty trained two kids. The girls seemed to enjoy the story though and the artwork was really cute. It's a fun way to tell kids about using the potty.
January 23, 2008
So cute, Camille and I love this book. It actually helped with potty training accidents a little too!
January 20, 2009
A really cute story, especially good for potty-training children.
August 21, 2011
This is a cute story, but my child thought it was cute to refuse to use the potty like this princess. Not a bonus in for me. I feel this is more for the parents than the child.
December 2, 2016
Adorable story.
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December 8, 2025slayed idc
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews