I Need to Wee!

PreS-K–Alan, a blue knitted bear, needs to use the bathroom but he would rather keep having fun with Giraffe and Robot. His friends whisk him along through a series of distractions—”when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go” intones the pink Giraffe—but the line for the toilet is dauntingly long. By now, Alan has acknowledged peeing as his top priority and this British import morphs from a lesson about listening to our bodies into a playtime farce. The goggle-eyed toys rush about, looking for an alternate toilet. Dolly’s potty is too small, a top hat houses a disgruntled Rabbit, and a teapot is just not appropriate. In the end, Alan’s need-to-wee jig wins him a dance competition with a prize trophy; he promptly relieves himself in it. Adults probably don’t want to introduce the idea of peeing in household objects and children may find the manic hunt more perplexing than fun. (Dolly appears the same size as Alan, so why doesn’t he fit on her toilet? How come a secret dance contest lurks on the other side of a curtain?) The book ends with a confusing pun that probably won’t land with kids in the U.S. who don’t use the words “wee” or “wheee!” on a regular basis.