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geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'The World of Poo' combines the wit of Terry Pratchett and Discworld with young children's fascination for all things scatological to tell a pretty funny story.
When young Geoffrey goes to live with his grandmother for a while, he develops a new hobby. It starts when a bird poops on his shoulder and he's told it's lucky. Thus begins his idea to collect various specimens from various creatures. There are any number to collect, and this being Discworld, the animals are on the exotic side. He also meets various friends of his grandmother who have made their fortunes in similar professions, from gardening, to tending animals in a zoo, to being a sanitation engineer.
It's kind of a disgusting subject, but it's still pretty funny. It's also filled with fun pictures, but fortunately not illustrations of fecal matter. The pictures remind me of ones in old books from the early part of the last century. It's a quick little read and probably more for the Discworld completist than for someone looking for a good kid's book or a way to get into the series.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Doubleday Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
When young Geoffrey goes to live with his grandmother for a while, he develops a new hobby. It starts when a bird poops on his shoulder and he's told it's lucky. Thus begins his idea to collect various specimens from various creatures. There are any number to collect, and this being Discworld, the animals are on the exotic side. He also meets various friends of his grandmother who have made their fortunes in similar professions, from gardening, to tending animals in a zoo, to being a sanitation engineer.
It's kind of a disgusting subject, but it's still pretty funny. It's also filled with fun pictures, but fortunately not illustrations of fecal matter. The pictures remind me of ones in old books from the early part of the last century. It's a quick little read and probably more for the Discworld completist than for someone looking for a good kid's book or a way to get into the series.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Doubleday Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
rollforlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Fiction from within fiction, though only fantasy by virtue of the outer level of fiction The World of Poo is most certainly a book that's aimed squarely at the (fictional) six to eight year old boy. I'd love to find out what a real seven year old boy would think of this! So long as the setting didn't confuse I like to think it'd be a hit, though possibly not inspiration to imitate the protagonist? This twenty-eight year old woman found it a bit of fun too. I particularly liked the mention of Unseen University in the visit with Harry King. My inner child got the giggles...
This was a quick read, well written and a bit of fun between chunkier books. If you've read the Discworld books, particularly the more recent ones, I'd give this a go. And if you happen to have the chance to introduce it to a suitably aged boy, do let me know if they liked it!
This was a quick read, well written and a bit of fun between chunkier books. If you've read the Discworld books, particularly the more recent ones, I'd give this a go. And if you happen to have the chance to introduce it to a suitably aged boy, do let me know if they liked it!
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
5.0
In Snuff, Young Sam Vines had moved on from Where’s My Cow? and his new favourite book was The World of Poo. Because Sir Terry Pratchett his awesome, once again he has brought Sam’s fictional book to life in a charming story all about poo!
I’m not sure the plot really matters. Geoffrey is staying with his Grandmother in Ankh-Morpork and he starts up a poo museum in the garden shed after he’s told that being pooed on by a bird is good luck. The story follows his adventures round the city as he collects different types of poo and even visits Sir Harry King, master of all things poo.
I can see this being a huge hit with small children even if parents might want to deter poo collecting as a hobby. Geoffrey is encouraged to wash his hands a lot so there is a positive message in there too. The line drawings by Peter Dennis are charming and add a little extra to the story; I especially liked the ones illustrating his trip to the zoo. And in true Pratchett style, there are plenty of footnotes to keep the adults entertained (though personally, I thought the whole thing was amusing).
There’s a lot of moaning on Amazon about the formatting on the Kindle edition. I can see how it might have been difficult with the illustrations and footnotes but there’s a bit of me that thinks this book deserves to by a physical thing. The hardback has a lovely feel to it and at the very least, it’s an interesting conversation point for visitors to your home.
I’m not sure the plot really matters. Geoffrey is staying with his Grandmother in Ankh-Morpork and he starts up a poo museum in the garden shed after he’s told that being pooed on by a bird is good luck. The story follows his adventures round the city as he collects different types of poo and even visits Sir Harry King, master of all things poo.
I can see this being a huge hit with small children even if parents might want to deter poo collecting as a hobby. Geoffrey is encouraged to wash his hands a lot so there is a positive message in there too. The line drawings by Peter Dennis are charming and add a little extra to the story; I especially liked the ones illustrating his trip to the zoo. And in true Pratchett style, there are plenty of footnotes to keep the adults entertained (though personally, I thought the whole thing was amusing).
There’s a lot of moaning on Amazon about the formatting on the Kindle edition. I can see how it might have been difficult with the illustrations and footnotes but there’s a bit of me that thinks this book deserves to by a physical thing. The hardback has a lovely feel to it and at the very least, it’s an interesting conversation point for visitors to your home.
mpclemens's review against another edition
3.0
An unflinchingly scatological peek at the underside (ha ha) of Discworld society, with a title and illustrations aimed squarely at the easily-amused nine-year-old inside all of us. Not great, certainly not long, but certainly one of the most focused children's-book parodies/bonus materials/Discworld items you may happen to pick up (just wash your hands afterwards.)
heidi_may91's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jonathanpalfrey's review against another edition
3.0
This is a little story about a boy visiting his grandmother in Ankh-Morpork and developing a keen interest in all kinds of poo.
It's a short book and there's not much to it, so perhaps only Pratchett completists will want to rush out and buy a copy. However, if you happen to come across it lying around, as I did, it makes quite pleasant reading to pass a short while. Faced with the challenge of writing a book with this title, Pratchett shaped up and made something better than you might expect of it.
It could probably teach you a few things you didn't know about poo, too.
Although the story is set on the Discworld, it doesn't really require previous knowledge of the Discworld, and the level of fantasy in it is relatively low.
It's a short book and there's not much to it, so perhaps only Pratchett completists will want to rush out and buy a copy. However, if you happen to come across it lying around, as I did, it makes quite pleasant reading to pass a short while. Faced with the challenge of writing a book with this title, Pratchett shaped up and made something better than you might expect of it.
It could probably teach you a few things you didn't know about poo, too.
Although the story is set on the Discworld, it doesn't really require previous knowledge of the Discworld, and the level of fantasy in it is relatively low.
trayceebee's review against another edition
3.0
I checked this book out because the title and cover intrigued me. I've heard of Terry Pratchett, and I know he passed away recently... I felt like I should read something of his. When this appeared in the check-in bin at work, I thought, "Here's my chance!" I didn't know what to expect--it was definitely humorous, dealing with all sorts of poo from all sorts of creatures; yet it was educational and entertaining at the same time.
I felt like it might be aimed at children, as it was written about a child and almost had that "I'm telling a children's story" tone to it... yet, it's cataloged as adult fiction--more specifically, it falls under the SciFi category. If nothing else, I'm re-evaluating my own personal idea of what SciFi entails.
I felt like it might be aimed at children, as it was written about a child and almost had that "I'm telling a children's story" tone to it... yet, it's cataloged as adult fiction--more specifically, it falls under the SciFi category. If nothing else, I'm re-evaluating my own personal idea of what SciFi entails.
leosaumure's review against another edition
4.0
This was a gift from a friend (granted a friend who knows me pretty well). I've never read any of Terry Pratchett's discworld series, so this is my first deep dive (ewww) into his writing. It is a children's book, but I did find it very interesting and illuminating that he included many footnotes in this book that not only described bits and pieces of his tangential world, but also footnotes on the history of poo!
I enjoyed this book, and while I wouldn't start my own poo museum (spoiler), I found the subject matter right up my alley!
I enjoyed this book, and while I wouldn't start my own poo museum (spoiler), I found the subject matter right up my alley!