Who Wet My Pants?

by Bob Shea, Zachariah OHora (Illustrator)

Overview

In this hilarious tale of blame, compassion, and forgiveness, a very embarrassed bear is reminded that accidents can happen—but with the support of good friends, life goes on.

Reuben the bear's got donuts for everyone in his scout troop, but his friends are all staring at something else: there's a wet spot on Reuben's pants, and it's in a specific area. "WHO WET MY PANTS?" he shouts, and a blame game starts. His buddies try to reassure him there was no crime. Just an accident. It could happen to anyone! But as all the clues begin to point in Reuben's own direction as the culprit, Reuben must come to terms with the truth.

Who Wet My Pants? isn't a potty-training book. It's a witty and wise story about embarrassment and anger, empathy and acceptance, and ultimately...forgiveness.

Don’t miss these other funny books by Bob Shea!
Chez Bob
Pizza for Birds
Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great
Dinosaur Vs. Bedtime
The Scariest Book Ever!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316525213
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	133,053
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Bob Shea has written many popular books for children, including Chez Bob, Who Wet My Pants?, Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great and the Dinosaur vs. … series. He lives in Madison, Connecticut and he invites you to visit his website at bobshea.com.

Zachariah OHora is the illustrator of a number of children's books, including Wolfie the Bunny and Read the Book, Lemmings! (both written by Ame Dyckman). His author-illustrator debut Stop Snoring, Bernard! was awarded the Society of Illustrators Founder's Award, and his book No Fits Nilson! was the Huffington Post Best Picture Book of the Year for 2013. He lives and works in Narberth, PA.

Editorial Reviews

…sidesplitting…[Shea's] ability to create animal characters who exaggerate deeply human imperfections is spot on. His bouncy cadence gives the all-dialogue text terrific expression when read aloud.

The New York Times Book Review - Emily Jenkins

★ 05/27/2019

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.)

Publishers Weekly

* "Kindness is revealed to be the best answer to embarrassment and anger in this funny take on peeing your pants."
—Kirkus, starred review

* "A quick study in how saving face can be a team effort."
—Booklist, starred review

* "A comedy that is both laugh-out-loud off-kilter and deeply humane."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The images are irresistible—brightly colored and rich with little details that kids will delight in finding. It's doing a double duty for kids who are encountering potty training embarrassment—they're getting the message that pants-wetting is normal, and empathy is the best policy."—NPR's Book Concierge

From the Publisher

09/01/2019

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

School Library Journal

★ 2019-05-08
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 badges—on both the uniforms and the endpapers—delight 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 blame—a 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)

Kirkus Reviews