The World of Poo by Terry Pratchett

9/10

For those of you who have not had the wonderful pleasure of reading Terry Pratchett’s novel ‘Snuff’ and may find the title of this book somewhat of a surprise then I present this following excerpt;

Vimes looked at the cover. The title was The World of Poo. When his wife was out of eyeshot he carefully leafed through it. Well, okay, you had to accept that the world had moved on and these days fairy stories were probably not going to be about twinkly little things with wings. As he turned page after page, it dawned on him that whoever had written this book, they certainly knew what would make kids like Young Sam laugh until they were nearly sick. The bit about sailing down the river almost made him smile. But interspersed with the scatology was actually quite interesting stuff about septic tanks and dunnakin divers and gongfermors and how dog muck helped make the very best leather, and other things that you never thought you would need to know, but once heard somehow lodged in your mind.

Apparently it was by the author of Wee and if Young Sam had one vote for the best book ever written, then it would go to Wee. His enthusiasm was perhaps fanned all the more because a rare imp of mischief in Vimes led him to do all the necessary straining noises.

This quote is no doubt the wellspring from which sprung this small children’s story, ‘The World of Poo’ written by the erstwhile Miss Felicity Beedle.

The story follows young Geoffrey as he visits the great city of Ankh-Morpork and suddenly realises that he has a great interest in poo! The story is told for children and is littered with footnotes detailing the many various types of poo encountered through the story, their miscellaneous uses, and average quantities.

There are some beautifully written scenes that any adult will smile at, and many scenes that will no doubt enrich the life of a child. This is most definitely a story written for children that nearby adults might enjoy as well.

My copy is hardbacked with a rough and heavy feel to the cover which gives this a perfect feel when reading. Illustrations pepper the story giving life to some of Pratchett’s most fascinating characters and locations.

Whether you have an adventuresome young boy (or girl) or a love of anything Pratchett then you will most definitely relish this book.