Who wet my pants?

Bob Shea

Book - 2019

When Reuben the bear brings doughnuts to his forest friends, they discover that his pants are wet and he angrily accuses them of the dirty deed.

Saved in:

Bookmobile Children's Show me where

jE/Shea
0 / 1 copies available

Children's Room Show me where

jE/Shea
2 / 3 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
Bookmobile Children's jE/Shea Due Apr 5, 2024
Children's Room jE/Shea Due Apr 11, 2024
Children's Room jE/Shea Checked In
Children's Room jE/Shea Checked In
Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
New York ; Boston : Little, Brown and Company 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
Bob Shea (author)
Other Authors
Zachariah OHora (illustrator)
Physical Description
1 volume : chiefly illustrations (colour) ; 28 cm
ISBN
9780316525213
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Along with being a front runner for best picture-book title of the year, Shea's latest collaboration is a quick study in how saving face can be a team effort. Returning to his scout camp from a doughnut run, Reuben the bear discovers that his pants are wet. Immediately he explodes in furious accusations (see title), all of which get only temporizing responses It was probably just an accident, It could happen to anyone from one poker-faced member of the troop after another. But if there are any straight faces left in live audiences (particularly after Reuben's bellowed I'll get to the bottom of my wet pants if it's the last thing I do! ), they aren't going to survive the conclusion he reaches after recalling what he spent the day doing in those very same pants (chugging lemonade and walking past a waterfall, taking a nap with his paw in an aquarium): THESE PANTS ARE BROKEN! The discreet yellow stain around Reuben's crotch, plainly visible in each scene, will provide a further source of merriment. Dressed in scout uniforms, each member of the unusually diverse troop in OHora's woodsy illustrations is a different creature, and their unfeigned sympathy for Reuben makes this a fine counter to the schadenfreude-tinged likes of Suzy Senior's Octopants (2018), Rosemary Wells' Fiona's Little Accident (2018), Todd H. Doodler's Veggies with Wedgies (2014), or Mark Fearing's Giant Pants (2017).HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Shea's comic stylings have earned him plenty of eager fans, and OHora has illustrated a number of picture books funny enough to make anyone wet their pants.--John Peters Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

The animal scout troop is gathered around the campfire, and Reuben, a bear, is just about to hand out donuts when everyone notices a crescent-shaped wet patch at the crotch of his pants. The bear immediately and improbably deflects the blame: "Who wet my pants?" he shouts, and he begins accusing his friends of doing the deed. But the other scouts, who include a yeti, a turtle, and a hippo, don't rise to the bait; in fact, they're models of discretion and understanding. "Don't worry about it, Reuben," a dog scout says. "It could happen to anyone." Reuben never does own up (a funny flashback explains the accident's cause) and ultimately faults his "leaky broken pants" for causing him to blame his pals. His friends, for their part, wisely move on-and start passing the donuts. The woodsy-hued pictures feature thick black outlines and flattened perspectives in Ohora's trademark style; text told via dialogue balloons lends hilarity. Shea (Crash, Splash, or Moo!) and Ohora (Bikes for Sale) make a terrific team, creating a comedy that is at both laugh-out-loud off-kilter and deeply humane. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 2--Reuben is going on a camping trip with his scout group, and when he arrives to the campsite he has wet pants. He wants to know who is responsible. All of Reuben's friends are supportive and tell him that it is okay if he wet his pants; it happens to everyone. However, Reuben is sure that someone else wet his pants. As Reuben retraces his steps and confronts his friends, he slowly comes to the realization that no one else wet his pants. The pants are broken! Reuben forgives his friends and shares the donuts he has brought along. The illustrations are done in bold colors and offers compelling details of the work that needs to be completed on a camping trip. The other animals are cute, and offer Reuben understanding and compassion as he struggles with his wet pants. The message of the book is for kids to learn to offer understanding and empathy when something embarrassing happens to a friend. It even shows Reuben behaving in an illogical way, but his friends still love him. VERDICT A cute story to help teach social emotional learning.--Nicole Detter-Smith, Homestead High School, IN

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Kindness is revealed to be the best answer to embarrassment and anger in this funny take on peeing in your pants."Somebody better come clean about my wet pants." Reuben, a bear in a scouting uniform, interrogates the whole forest troop to determine who wet his pants. He even holds the doughnuts hostage until he can flush out the guilty party and get what he wants: justice and dry pants. The animals of Troop 73, all blushing with blame (or perhaps embarrassment for their friend?), are dressed in khakis and kerchiefs and sit around a warm campfire. "I'll get to the bottom of my wet pants if it's the last thing I do!" yells Reuben. The illustrations are as insistent as Reuben. OHora's pink, brown, and green-dominated color scheme gives the pages an indie vibe; they're full of cool things that catch the eye: a potable-water pump, the string-tied doughnut box, and plenty of perfect mushrooms. The scout badgeson both the uniforms and the endpapersdelight in their quirky charm. But this is more than a potty book for scouts. With each accusation, it becomes clear that Reuben will do anything to avoid blamea character trait familiar to readers, no doubt. Luckily for Reuben, his empathetic friends treat him with kindness, and forgiveness ultimately leaks from the pages.It is not an accident that there is more here than meets the eye. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.