Book Review: The Very Hungry Toilets Take a Field Trip
The Very Hungry Toilets Take a Field Trip. Neva Ryan, Neva Ryan Books, Oct. 1, 2024, Hardback, paperback and e-book, 36 pages.
Reviewed by Casie Gambrel
In The Very Hungry Toilets Take a Field Trip, the author brings back her beloved characters Tyler and Tilly, two little toilets with big personalities and a penchant for mischief. They live in an elementary school and are well-liked by the students. Tyler and Tilly are bored with their everyday surroundings and eager for an adventure. One day, after hours, their curiosity leads them to sneak away from the bathroom and board a school bus bound for a museum field trip the next morning.
Once inside the museum, Tilly gets hungry. Yet, there’s no food court to offer relief. So, she bites off the hand of a large dinosaur skeleton. Tyler and Tilly run away as the dino skeleton crashes down. The museum staff and students are confused. As Tyler and Tilly hide in the bathroom wondering what to do, they meet Big Toilet. She offers good advice for Tilly’s overstuffed belly. One big flush leads Tilly’s clogged can to release a massive overflow bringing the dino hand directly to the museum staff. Tyler and Tilly’s mischief is a museum mystery. Do they get caught?
In her sequel to The Very Hungry Toilets, author Neva Ryan again leans into her experience as an educator to create an imaginative follow-up. Young readers will find it easy to follow Tyler and Tilly’s adventures with the rhythmic sentence structure. This book offers similar sing-song phrases and brightly colored illustrations by Behnaz Hajielyasi. Readers will also recognize the familiar faces of the diverse student body as they venture onto the school bus and arrive at the museum for their field trip. By returning to the same characters and illustration styles as the first book, the author creates an engaging sequel for young readers to continue following the adventures of the beloved toilets and their friends.
The Very Hungry Toilets Take a Field Trip is a clever and delightful read. The story highlights themes similar to those in the first book: curiosity, adventure, and mischief. It’s reminiscent of classical stories in which inanimate objects come to life with their silly personalities. It also opens the door for parents to have a conversation with their little ones about being sneaky and the appropriate time to eat snacks. The story wraps up with a sweet moment of gratitude as Tilly wants to mail a thank you letter to the new character, Big Toilet, teasing the reader with a potential third book of this feel-good series.
I highly recommend this book to both parents and children looking for loveable characters to root for as well as laugh at a little toilet humor.
