Kids likely to love every stinkin’ page of “Belches, Burps, and Farts – Oh My!”

Say “Please” some time and see what happens. You might be surprised!

“Thank you” is pretty amazing, and so is “I’m sorry.” “Excuse me” is also really good. Those last two are Magic Words you’ll need when you’ve got “Belches, Burps, and Farts — Oh My!” by Artie Bennett, illustrated by Pranas T. Naujokaitis in your hands.

If you’ve been paying attention your whole life, you know that sneezes and sighs aren’t the only sounds your body makes. You also make sounds from your mouth and… the other end.

Even babies know that burps feel good sometimes because they get rid of uncomfortable built-up gases. Drink a soda or talk too much while you’re eating and you’ll want to burp or belch, too. Did you know, by the way, that there’s a difference between a burp and a belch? Did you know that if you burp at the end of a meal in China, it means you enjoyed your meal?

Did you know that you can’t burp when you’re lying on your back? Go ahead and try!

When the gas inside your body gets past a certain point, it will “exit farther south.” If you try to hold back a belch, it will eventually just become something else.

And you’re not alone because “every living person farts.” Your mom, your teacher, your neighbor, your grandpa — and they do it all the time! It’s perfectly natural — even most (but not all) animals do it. Take, for instance, cows. They burp a lot — and they fart quite a bit, too. If you could save all the methane from a few cows’ farts, that gas could heat a small house for a whole year!

But guess what — a tiny little critter can “out-fart” even an elephant!

Here’s how farts happen: Hold onto a belch or munch on certain kinds of foods, and the microbes in your belly make gas. Mix it with sulfur and pee-eeeuw — on average, 14 times a day. Farts “escape” at night while you’re sleeping, when you’re running, when you’re playing or you’re just sitting. They sneak out when you don’t want them to and Oops! Excuse me!

No doubt about it, having kids can be a real gas. And if yours are at the right age, then “Belches, Burps, and Farts — Oh My!” will be the right book.

But don’t think that this book is only filled with gratuitous farts-are-funny pages. Yes, there’s that in here, but Bennett also aims to inform by using a rhyme about bodily sounds and end-of-book information with further facts. Kids who read this book will learn a thing or two about biology, and they’ll be delighted by the accompanying giggle-making illustrations from Naujokaitis.

I think this book is especially perfect for boys ages 3 to 8 but, of course, girls can enjoy it and so can adults with a good sense of humor. Give them “Belches, Burps, and Farts – Oh My!” and they’ll love every stinkin’ page.

View publishes Terri Schlichenmeyer’s reviews of books for children weekly.