We Toot! by Ashley Wheelock and Arwen Evans

​Review 4 star

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We Toot! is a light-hearted children’s picture book with a message of positive values. It is written by Ashley Wheelock and Arwen Evans and illustrated by Sandie Sonke. In it a group of little girls have a slumber party together. When one of the girls accidentally farts, the others are upset and can’t find the culprit. Farting isn’t ladylike—it isn’t for girls—one of them insists. But the cause of this small catastrophe steps proudly forward to say she’s unashamed to fart even though she’s a girl. Bodies are to be celebrated and actions like hiccupping, burping, and belching shouldn’t be treated more harshly just because they’re done by girls.
 
This children’s book has a good message deep inside it, about being honest with yourself and with other people. Ashley Wheelock and Arwen Evans have put together a sincere and funny story about some very real little girls faced with a situation that, though simple, gives them an opportunity to start early on being open-minded towards others. We Toot! takes the embarrassment out of normal bodily situations, like belching, by assuring children there’s nothing particularly different about being a girl! I liked the concept that conforming to artificial standards isn’t valuable—being a good person who supports other people and cares about them is what’s important. A story that puts a little rainbow and some sunshine on some happy girls who learn to help each other instead of engaging in a shower of criticisms, this book is a pleasant tool to use if you have a child who’s being judged by others.