Orchard Books ISBN 9781408363973 £6.99
Oh the irony of a children’s book called “Where’s the toilet roll?”. In the year that gave us a global pandemic, an unprecedented lockdown and stockpiling, who can forget the news headlines and images of empty shelves as the nation engaged as one in toilet roll buying panic. I’m sure Orchard Books can’t quite believe how timely a publication this is.
The central premise is not unlike the classic Where’s Wally? format, where both children, (and adults), are encouraged to search for a roll of toilet paper and various stylised poos. Each page is filled with colourful and bold illustrations, some like repetitive wallpapers, others scenes of life, including an airport, (Poos on a Plane), a seaside, (Poos, Ahoy), and thankfully, a topically correct grocery store search called Supermarket Scramble. The answers for each search are provided at the end, plus an additional list of other extras to find.
“Where’s the toilet roll” is a fun and well-designed addition to the search and find books. A must read for anyone who wants to revisit those heady early days of lockdown in the UK in 2020.
Hilary Payne