Gotta Go!: TOON Level 2

by Frank Viva

Overview

Will Owen be left high and dry?

Owen should have listened but instead he’s now squirming: he’s just gotta go! Luckily for him, Mom and grampa are there to offer advice and show him silly tricks that can help flush the urge away. FRANK VIVA, the acclaimed designer and author of A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse and Young Frank, Architect, doesn't mind getting his feet wet as he dives into what can be a scary topic for children and turns it into a hilarious and liberating romp.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781662665073
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	09/05/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,096,222
Product dimensions:	7.68(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.42(d)
Lexile:	GN310L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Frank Viva is an award-winning artist and designer who lives in Toronto with his family. Viva’s other books include the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book selection Along a Long Road, the Parents’ Choice Award winner A Long Way Away, and TOON’s Cybils award-winning A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse. His art has appeared in many places, including regularly on the cover of The New Yorker.

Editorial Reviews

07/10/2023

In this rollicking and appropriately goldenrod-washed comic, Viva (Weekend Dad) assures readers that no one ever outgrows needing to go. After distractedly assuring Mom that he doesn’t need to use the restroom before heading to his grandfather’s, young Owen—focused on screen time—realizes en route, “I gotta go!” When Owen barely makes it to the toilet (“Ahhh...”) and a dog called Whizzer is seen letting loose against a tree, Owen and Grampa, portrayed with largely bald heads and tan skin, turn a park outing into a discussion of holding-it tactics. “I find that dancing helps me!” Grampa says, and the two are soon demonstrating an entire repertoire of preventive moves, including the Tinkle Twist, the Wee-wee Walk, the Piddle Patter, and the Leaky Shake. Viva employs a highly stylized aesthetic across rounded, accessible panels, including lots of profiles and silhouettes—and a bleeding yellow wash. Even more importantly, there isn’t a put-upon or tut-tutting grown-up in these pages: Grampa is game for anything; the fantastical figures, shown with various skin tones, queueing for the park bathrooms each do dances of their own; and Mom is both bemused and empathic: “Ha, ha, ha! Stop it, you guys,” she admonishes the cavorting Owen and Grampa. “You’re going to make me pee in my pants.” Ages 5–7. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Selected as one of 6 Big Indie Books for Fall for Youth by Publishers Weekly
Selected for Publishers Weekly’s Early Reader Spotlight 
Selected for the Association for Library Service to Children Summer Reading List
Selected for The Horn Book Beginning Readers and Primary Grades Summer Reading List
One of the 150 Most Anticipated Fall Books Kirkus Reviews

★"Wry, cool and spot-on….Charming… A perfect suggestion for read-alouds or one-on-one reading….A kid-friendly early reader graphic novel that hits all the right notes. You Gotta Go purchase for early elementary shelves.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“A tour de force that gives new meaning to “Ooooh” and “Ahhh… never has bathroom humor been so true.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Something of a mini-masterpiece, the sort of thing that both you and your children will adore...the perfect book for those kids having trouble holding it in…a truly endearing and funny way to turn worries into giggles.”—Comicon

“Certain to resonate with young readers." —Publishers Weekly

"I cannot WAIT to get my hands on this! Frank Viva is a cool artist."—Elizabeth Bird, A Fuse #8 Production, School Library Journal.com

"Another reminder of the importance of family….hilarious dances…a charming graphic novel for the youngest set.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Frank Viva’s Gotta Go! Holds The Secrets For When You Need To Pee. Kids are always going to need to use the bathroom at inconvenient times. However, Frank Viva’s Gotta Go! makes those moments easier for everyone involved by teaching kids the tools to ignore the urge through a fun package that’s easy to read.”—How To Love Comics

“Frank Viva is always fresh and funny. Not talking down to anyone. A kind and whimsical spirit. One of a kind.” —Maira Kalman

"This entertaining tale with all its squirmy, wiggly physical humor, marked by Viva's sleek, styled illustrations, also includes practical tips for children who have to go but aren't in a place in which to do so."—Horn Book

“A hilarious and liberating romp….Unreservedly recommended.” —Midwest Book Review

"Viva’s stylized digital art shines in this picture book graphic novel hybrid." —Youth Services Book Review

“[...] a common situation that young children can relate to and find humor in.” —YA Books Central

“Children will delight in a book that speaks to a very common issue.” —Puget Sound Council for the Review of Children's and Young Adult Literature

“[...] A great book for older readers with a sense of humor to share with newer readers.” — Library Comic

From the Publisher

★ 10/01/2023

PreS-Gr 2—Viva's latest is as wry, cool, and spot-on as ever. Owen's mom checks in with him before they set out on a car ride to a visit with Grampa---"Do you have to pee before we go?" The distracted boy is too busy plinking, clinking, doinking on his device to even seriously consider it. As they cross the bridge, he's seized by a sudden urge to pee. With lots of patience, his mother suggests different ways to help him hold it: "Just try to think of something totally different. How about a favorite toy?" but all he can think of is running faucets and waterfalls. He makes it just in time. At the park, Grampa gives him more advice, including several silly dances that make light of the situation and just might do the trick in a dire situation. Viva's signature design-heavy art and fun humor elevate this perennial topic to a title both kids and their grown-ups will chuckle along to. This charming early reader graphic novel done in mostly block illustrations in black, gold, and white will help diffuse a stressful situation. The oversize heads and silhouette figures give this an almost animated feel, and the sweet dialogue distinguished by different color bubbles will help emerging readers decode meaning to the text. The limited and repeated vocabulary makes this a perfect suggestion for read-alouds or one-on-one reading. VERDICT A kid-friendly early reader graphic novel that hits all the right notes. You Gotta Go purchase for early elementary shelves.—Shelley M. Diaz

School Library Journal

2023-06-21
In this graphic easy reader, Owen learns techniques for forestalling the inevitable need to pee.

Absorbed with a game in the car, Owen realizes 10 minutes from Grandpa’s house that “I gotta go!” Mom helps the child think of something else (steering Owen away from such counterproductive images as a waterfall, running faucet, and water pistol). As the child rushes into the bathroom of Grandpa’s third-floor walk-up just in time, Viva fills a double-page spread with Owen’s relieved face. At the park with Grandpa and Whizzer the dog, Owen learns that older folks get up early because they need to pee. Grandpa wryly introduces the child to several dances that help him stem the urge. After learning the “Tinkle Twist” and the “Wee-Wee Walk,” Owen collaborates with Grandpa on the “Pee-pee Hop,” the “Piddle Patter,” and the “Leaky Shake.” (Unbeknownst to the pair, an ever growing line has formed for the public restrooms behind them.) When Mom arrives to pick Owen up, she’s introduced to the dances as the line of waiting-to-go people, practicing their own set of urge diversions, begin to adopt some of the intergenerational duo’s moves. Viva’s crisply stylized graphics employ a palette of flat black, white, and gray, accented with a certain yellow in a watercolorlike texture. The family’s skin tone is light brown; other characters are diverse. Comics conventions like silhouettes and exaggerated perspective round out the package.

Funny—and comically instructive. (Graphic easy reader. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews