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Once upon a time there was a little boy who was in the process of potty training. His mother wanted to make this a positive experience for him but how? She decided to create a book filled with brightly colored illustrations that answered his questions. Soon, friends of the mother were requesting the book for their children. And eventually the book was published and is now distributed throughout the world.

That book? A classic published by Firefly Books called Once Upon a Potty.

According to one blogger: “There’s a reason Once Upon A Potty is one of the most read potty books over the years - it’s clear in message, it explains the process without pressure, and it helps make the idea of the potty less frightening.”

A number of bloggers were sent both the “his” and “hers” version of Once Upon a Potty which includes a CD with a message from the author, the Once Upon A Potty story read by Jennifer Morehead, The Potty Song, and more. Our toddler and preschool testers took great delight in the story by Alona Frankel.

In fact, one blogger points out that her son “likes both versions and he continually asks for each book by their characters first names. If we have friends visiting, they immediately think that he is referring to friends he made at school, until I explain that he is asking for his potty training book.”

Another reviewer found “at first it was the bright red cover and colorfully illustrated pages that caught my daughter’s eye. She wanted this book read to her at naptime and fell in love with it immediately.”

Moms, dads alike appreciated the book’s durability.

“I love that the book is a heavy board book, especially since my children tend to be potty training for many, many, many (did I mention many?) months,” writes one reviewer. “The book will likely stand up to the wear and tear of such extended use. The cover is also slightly padded and has a waxy coating on it that looks like it would wipe clean easier than a strictly cardboard board book would. That’s a handy feature to have considering it’s likely to find its way into the bathroom for those attempts at using the potty.”

Another parent who reviewed the books also mentioned this feature, exclaiming that this “is a book that has a prayer of standing up to my destructive whirlwind toddler”.

The illustrations were a big hit with girls and boys. And parents were delighted by them too!

“The illustrations are simple, but with charming details that bring Prudence - our potty heroine - and her long-suffering mother to life,” writes one blogger.

Simplicity is key when it comes to educating toddlers and preschoolers. And Once Upon a Potty’s story is just that. According to one blogger: “Each book contains a small anatomy lesson given in easy to understand terms and accompanied by cute but accurate drawings.

And the CD? Had kids jamming too.

In fact a reviewer’s daughter “snatched the CD out of the book right quick and demanded airtime for it. We listened to the CD as Frankel made her introduction and the jazz-style music that follows was a good way to settle into naptime.”

Once Upon a Potty’s message is timeless and reminds (both kids and parents) that patience is key: “Even though it was created over 30 years ago, the principles are still the same - with patience you will get pee and poo poo,” imparts one blogger.

This nugget of wisdom has helped one reviewer’s daughter.

“While I’d love to report she’s completely potty trained, that still isn’t the case. But it has shown her that sometimes she has to sit for a while before anything happens, and she’ll now give it a minute or two before declaring she’s done and asking to leave the bathroom,“ this mom mentions. ”And more importantly, her little sister Mira has been following along as well, and now follows me into the bathroom to sit on the potty (fully-clothed, but still) every chance she gets.”

And while another mother’s twins are “anti-potty training” at the moment, she’s hoping Prudence’s story will make the transition easier for her daughters when they decide they are ready. (It will “click” with them at some point. I promise!)

“This book and CD is very cute and my girls LOVE the story and Prudence. I do believe it is helping with their education and learning,” this mom shares. ”Eventually, they may even realize it could apply to them.”

While the book was very well received overall, a few bloggers took issue with one aspect: “The one thing I don’t like about this book-the potty that Prudence (or Joshua) gets from her Grandmother looks absolutely nothing like any kind of potty used today, it looks like a big water pitcher. I learned from her website that Ms. Frankel is from Poland, and perhaps that was the kind of potty used there in 1975 when she wrote the book. And as humorous as “is it a birdbath, is it a flowerpot, is it a hat?” is, it doesn’t help potty-trainers make the connection between the illustration and what they are using themselves.”

But bloggers are quick to point out that this book is different from plethora of potty training products on the market.

“Considering how much potty training paraphernalia we parents are bombarded with, a book with a good dose of humor like Once Upon a Potty is a welcome breath of fresh air. Pun intended.”, writes a two-time potty trainer.

But most importantly? One review adds, “Its information seems to really stick, more so than other potty books, into my daughters mind and with it helped us get her back on track in the potty department.”

This entry was posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008 at 5:00 am and is filed under Books, Pre-school, Toddler. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.