Sometimes a book's title really speaks to your heart, doesn't it?

A family on vacation, in a hotel with a swimmingpool. The dad is going down with his daughter and son, and just when they get in the pool, the boy says he has to use the bathroom. He, in fact, has to poop. So up the hotel stairs they go again (168 steps), because when you got to go, you got to go. On the way they walk past all kinds of interesting folks on the stairs. When they're back in their apartment, guess what? Yes, the boy doesn't need to go anymore. Back down they go, and quickly, because you don't want to lose your place next to the pool!

Rinse and repeat, meeting more and more curious people walking down the stairs, the dad coming ever closer to a heartattack navigating those 168 steps.

I'm not spoiling how it ends, but it's not pretty. But then the book reminds us we've all been there, which maybe is a bit presumptuous.

The art sells the whole thing, it's fantastic, just a lot of fun. And everyone likes shouting they have to poop (maybe a bit presumptuous on my account).

If you have ever been responsible for a young child going to a pool, you will be very familiar with this story. The best aspect of this book is that it is so relatable, and I found out recently that it is based on the author’s sibling. Hilarious and hits close to home. The end has everyone sharing their poop accident stories. It's a good way of talking about embarrassing stories and can ease the embarrassment.

Downloaded for my nephew (6) who is, weirdly, obsessed with poop. I'll never understand-- kids are weird. He loved it though. A fun read during snack time! He was actually laughing out loud. That'll do!

The Boy Who Cried Poop by Alessandra Requena is about a family who just wants to use the hotel pool. However, the youngest child has another prerogative; he urgently needs to use the toilet but only once they climb down several stairs to get to the pool. The story is backwards and forwards between getting into the pool and go back upstairs to the only toilet back- in their apartment

This was a funny but also a relatable children’s story. We love the interactions the characters both saw and heard on the stairs. We don’t think we’ve seen a busier hotel. We thought the ending was a bit gross but we loved the positive ending it had too.

We think children and parents/caregivers would love reading this book too.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the digital copy of The Boy Who Cried Poop for reviewing purposes.

This book was amazing! The 3-year-old that I read it to begged for it to be read over and over and I think it helped take some of the fear of being completely potty trained away.

The illustrations were vibrant and had lots to point out and share and the storyline was lovely.

This is an hilarious picture book perfect for parents and children who are going through that tricky potty training phase or just for kids who love toilet humour. The illustrations are fun and there is a strong focus on eliminating any shame around having accidents. The language makes it a great story to read aloud and I can see the whole family joining in with the laughs. There's a lot of extra stuff to spot in the pictures which adds to the story even more and it's just an all-round entertaining read.

Very cute story and illustrations. It's the perfect addition to our stack of books all about going potty/learning the potty training ropes. Many thanks for the free copy!

Amazing colorful book with a unique idea and thoughts. Good read for kids up to five. Thanks to the publishers for the complimentary e-ARC

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This is a story about a young family on a vacation, trying to enjoy the hotel pool. Unfortunately one of them doesn't have a firm grasp on his body's elimination signals yet, and keeps telling his father and sister he needs to poop, when he doesn't. I'm sure you can all see where this is going.

This story was a little bit ridiculous in its descriptions of the other guests staying at this hotel, and they got more and more ridiculous each time the family made the trek up and then back down the stairs between their room and the pool. This provided for some really fun and bright illustrations. And since the book is geared towards young children, the absurdity is perfect.

I would honestly probably have no problem reading this book a few times as it had me giggling a bit, and it's a bit more relatable for kids today than The Girl Who Cried Wolf. Overall I give this book 4.16 out of 5 stars.

I thought this book was hilarious and your kids will too!

This is a fun take-off on The Boy Who Cried Wolf. It is a boy who keeps thinking he has to go to the bathroom but can’t after his father finally gets him to the toilet. They pass many fascinating characters on their way up and down the apartment stairs. When his father finally decides not to take him again, he does really have to go and has an accident in the pool. He is embarrassed but those around him proceed to tell stories of them losing control.

The book will be humorous for children. The characters are creative and the colors are vibrant. While I can’t imagine telling poop stories in a crowd, I found this to be one of my favorite books so far this year.


I received an ARC from Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Children’s Books through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

The Boy Who Cried Poop
By Alessandra Requena
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

👦🏼👧🏻Brother and sister
⁉️168 steps
😰🙋🏻‍♂️One tired dad
🏊‍♀️Pool
💩 Poop
🦩 flamingo
🐕 dogs
🐱 cats
🤰🏻🥓pregnant lady with bacon
🏴‍☠️ pirates
🥁 Marching band
🚽 “I have to potty”

This book was so cute and really relatable right now as we are continuing to potty train. Making sure you go before you leave the home and taking many trips to the bathroom as soon as you leave the house! I loved all the characters/interactions on the stairs going up and down. Also, everyone sharing their stories at their end with the boy so he wouldn’t feel bad. Thank you NetGalley, Alessandra Requena and Quarto Publishing Group- Frances Lincoln Children’s Books for our copy.

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy from Netgalley for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When you gotta go, you gotta go! …But when you don’t, you don’t. When Marc keeps claiming to need the toilet and then failing to deliver, everyone’s patience starts to wear thin. I love how the illustrations give the readers so much to notice, talk about, and count. I also love how the book normalizes that everyone has accidents sometimes, all in a funny way. This would be a great one to read for summer/poop-themed storytimes.

The Boy Who Cried Poop! is hilarious and relatable — a staple for every family!

Alessandra Requena took a topic that all parents/guardians can relate to and weaved this fun and fantastic story about a little boy who cried “wolf” (or in this case “poop”) one too many times with his exhausted parent.

The writing is laugh-out-loud funny, and the illustrations are lively and cute. This is a story that my entire family enjoyed! Seriously, we read the review copy at least 5 times in one sitting. What little kid doesn’t get hysterical over potty humor?! What parent/guardian can’t relate to a kid that needs to go to the bathroom at the most inconvenient time (and always right after they claimed they “didn’t have to go”)?!

Overall, I highly recommend The Boy Who Cried Poop! This is a spectacular book to add to your potty learning arsenal or just great, in general, if you’re looking for a book full of wit and charm that the whole family can enjoy!

*Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book. This did not affect my opinion or the content of my review.

This book was cute and quirky. I love it. It addresses a real life situation that some kids and some adults can relate with. It is also a good read for kids to help them not feel ashamed. We all make mistakes. The illustrations were cute and it made me laugh.

A very fun book to share with your students. Alessandra Requena has written a book guaranteed to bring giggles and groans to a classroom of kids. Poop is a fascinating topic to kids and this book delivers. I would recommend this book to classrooms and parents.

Super cute read and great for those starting to potty train. I would definetly rcommend this to customers at the library, and it would even be fun during a storytime for toddlers.

I thought that this was a really funny story and one that we enjoyed!

I read the book with my five year old daughter, or rather she read the book to me, it was perfect for her age range and she thought it was a bit silly and we had plenty of giggles.

It was easy to read and follow and the layout of the book was nice, clear, bright and attractive too

The illustrations worked well with the story and helped bring it all to life

It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended!

This book...is...hilarious. I may be a "grown up," but I couldn't help giggling throughout. One thing I really loved about this one was, while it included a lot of repetition like other picture books, it also wasn't always exactly the same thing--the family kept seeing different silly things as they went up and down the stairs, and I loved how Requena tied those minor characters in at the end with all their poop stories.

(received ARC from NetGalley)

This book is similar to the boy who cried wolf, but not so much about honesty, more about the repetitions of needing to go to the toilet! However, that's really the end of the similarity. I enjoy the colorful illustrations and the many interesting people they encounter at the stairs. The discussions at the end where they discussed personal experiences about having accidents were cute.

I wish the author explains more about these groups and why they're in the building!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A very fun story about accidents. I was was hoping they would need to go up the stairs one mode time because I loved the people they met on the staircase.

The images were fun and the thought of a bunch of adults sharing their poop stories around the pool made me smile.