bonniesayers's Full Review: Shinta Cho - The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts
As I stood watching the library clerk scan each of my books that had been on hold waiting for pick up, I decided to glance over at the display behind me in front of the children’s section. There it stood out in plain view for all patrons The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts. Since we have the companion to this book, Everyone Poops, I just had to snatch this from the rack.
Kane/Miller Book Publishers out of La Jolla, California are to be commended for bringing these books to America. Originally published in Japan under the title Onara (A story about Farts) was translated by Amanda Mayer Stinchecum. It just so happens that the Library of Congress has Flatulence-Juvenile Literature available for cataloging.
A funny similarity between The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts and Everyone Poops is they both begin with an Elephant performing the duty each book is based on, although only this book has the Elephant on the cover as well. The illustrations are that of a boy and his parents visiting various places and in different settings. This makes sense to showcase since the passing of gas can happen anywhere and not restricted to private areas.
The book begins with the boy and father getting flown to the ground due to the force of the fart that erupted from this huge Elephant, “ BAAAROOMM”. They were knocked on their butts with the boys’ hat being removed from his head due to the force, since Elephant farts are really big.
As I mentioned in my cons the next page is a bit disturbing to me and not so much because the boy is standing up in the tub having his penis visible, but the fact that his father is also in the tub. Different cultures do things other ways so I am not sure if this is or was common back in Japan during the 1970s. The reason this illustration of the tub is shown in The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts, has to do with what happens when you fart while in water. The bubbles rise with the boy looking behind him to see about five bubbles coming out of his rear moving toward the top of the water level. However the father is sitting in the back of the tub and his four bubbles look like they are coming from his stomach, so maybe he burped, although the text states, “ People fart too,”.
The family is having their Japanese dinner at the table eating and drinking where it is explained that if you eat in a hurry you can swallow lots of air. There are lines around the father in many of the illustrations showing emotions of some kind, perhaps embarrassment from the noises his body emits. His parents each BURP! after the meal while the boy and a pet animal let loose with a fart. There is an illustrated adult body chart that shows the internal organs explaining the path of air and food. “ Besides coming from the air you swallow, farts come from the gases found in your large intestine. These gases are made when leftover food (food that your body doesn't use) is broken down by bacteria, rots and becomes poop. That’s why farts stink!”
Just how much gas can be released from a healthy person is quite surprising, almost a half cup for each single fart, which can add up to two cups of gas in one day. But the next page in The Gas We Pass: The Story of Fartscontained information I was not aware of. It seems that if you were to hold in a fart you could end up dizzy or even have a headache. Now I wonder how many people who actually complain of a headache are really holding onto their farts! Perhaps the next time your significant other announces a headache, being the ever so sensitive one, you could mention that it is okay to pass gas and feel better.
The illustration to get this point across shows the father, who is a rather large man, holding his head with one hand while another grips his stomach. He also has a dazed glossy eye that probably means he is dizzy as well so the boy could be trying to hold him up. The page next to this one has the family pet, looks like a cat I suppose, leaving farts as he gets closer to them, “BRRM, BRRM, BRRM, Brrm, Brrm”
Some people might not even know that it is good to release a fart after having an operation because it means your intestines are working again. Depending on the kinds of food you eat the fart can be really bad, like from fish, meat and eggs. One good way to get kids to eat beans or sweet potatoes is to tell them the farts have no smell when done eating. The illustrations show the cat, with a blue face peering at a fish dinner on a table.
Another illustration shows the man holding his nose after cleaning up a rather stinky mess from a lion at the zoo. Every time we go to the zoo we see animals poop droppings waiting to be removed. Too bad the illustration of the lion makes him look not too happy after releasing his fart.
The last page explains that the smelling liquid that comes from a skunk is not farting. Then off the father and boy go, “ FARTHEEWELL”. The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts consists of thirty pages in this hardcover copy by Shinta Cho, a Curious Nell Book.
When my son came home from school the day I borrowed this and other books from the library I sat him down and read all the titles with him and gave a brief overview of each book. Within a few minutes he chose The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts as a book he wanted to read on his own. This is a silly and educational book for kids to joke about and get comfortable asking questions while perusing the pages.
The other day when I returned with my older son I inquired to the respite care worker if my younger son had pooped while we were gone. He tends to have chronic diarrhea and on many occasions I have prepared for a diaper change to find the contents empty. Now I tend to wait a bit when I smell what I think is poop that turns out to be a fart. My son drinks soymilk and I have noticed changes in his gas smell from when he was on regular milk and lactaid. The worker said she thought he had pooped but it turned out to be a nasty fart.
I asked her if she had read the fart book and she looked at me like I was losing it. I showed her the book and she got quite a chuckle out of it and said she will search for it for her six-year old son as well.
I can still remember when I was in my late teens living at my grandparents’ house and as my grandmother left the room to head upstairs for bed she farted. Next thing I knew she said, “excuse me”, as she walked out. It was a good thing it was bedtime because I did not know if I was to say something or just hold in my laugh! The one and only time I know someone, besides a crude ex husband I mean, refer to their passing of gas!
The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts would make a fine addition to a preschool environment, day care establishment or even bring to school for an open discussion. The age group for understanding would be from 3-6 but those through the ages of eight would think it amusing. If you are so inclined you can search for my review of Everyone Poops as well.
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