Your New Potty

by Joanna Cole, Margaret Miller (Illustrations)

A book for both parents and children about an important part of growing up

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Parenting

40 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1989

About the author

Joanna Cole, who also wrote under the pseudonym B. J. Barnet, was an author of children’s books who teaches science.

She is most famous as the author of The Magic School Bus series of children's books. Joanna Cole wrote over 250 books ranging from her first book Cockroach to her famous series Magic School Bus.

Cole was born in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby East Orange. She loved science as a child, and had a teacher she says was a little like Ms. Frizzle. She attended the University of Massachusetts and Indiana University before graduating from the City College of New York with a B.A. in psychology. After some graduate education courses, she spent a year as a librarian in a Brooklyn elementary school. Cole subsequently became a letters correspondent at Newsweek, and then a senior editor for Doubleday Books for Young Readers.

Reviews

[Chantia Singleton]

I would probably put this book on an adaptive shelf but not sure if I'm crazy about it. It was probably written before all the research on children's literature was so grandiose. I say this because learning to use the potty is something that a toddler can relate to. However, there are a lot of words on the pages which makes it more developmentally appropriate for a kindergarten student. The text fails at being appealing or engaging. I would say that the only aspect that "saves" it is the fact that there are photos of actual children becoming familiar with the potty. There are not many books that do that any more so I valued that,

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is similar to Joanna Cole's newer books My Big Girl Potty and My Big Boy Potty. The newer books are more stream lined and feature drawn pictures instead of photographs. I like the language that Cole uses in these books, and it has made potty training part of our story in a natural way.

[Destiny Dawn Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photos are dated in a way that makes them pretty entertaining. However, the general tone and language of the book still resonates. My daughter connected with this book very quickly and really liked talking about Steffie and Ben. Toddlers like to connect with the real world, and I think that the photos and clear language are very effective.

Don't skip it just because it gives you bad flashbacks to the 1980s--because your kid won't be bothered by that aspect at all.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a detailed book about potty training, the type of book that really shows and tells a child what potty training is all about. I liked that it had photographs. It is made for both boys and girls. A lot of text though if you are doing training early or with child not that interested in books.

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an informative potty book. It starts with how babies need diapers and shows how a big kid goes to the potty. It covers how boys and girls go #1 differently, flushing, hygiene, big kid underwear, and accidents.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

But not for this book, I don't know if my daughter would have started using the toilet.

[Sheri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too dated!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately the pictures are looking pretty dated.