Sometimes You Barf

Reviewed by: Shannon Schinagl - Maine State Library, Portland, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: October 28, 2014

Review

I am not familiar with any other nonfiction books about throwing up, so I was glad to see this one. The topic is certainly not unfamiliar to kids, and throwing up can be scary and, in school, embarrassing.

"Sometimes You Barf" is a decent book about the topic, and I recommend it for libraries because there aren't many, if any, other picture books on the topic.

Carlson did make the book silly and fun while covering a topic that is not silly or fun at all. She shows a number of animals throwing up, including worms and aardvarks! In addition, she hopes that if you do have to barf, you'll barf on your math test. She also covers the steps of being sick quite well: the initial, horrible throwing up, followed by drinking water, nibbling crackers, having soup, and finally being able to eat again! She also realistically talks about the reactions of students and teachers if you throw up at school.

However, I did have some concerns about the book. First, Carlson only talks about throwing up in the context of the flu. She doesn't talk about eating something gross or getting car sick, for example. Second, she includes a random "Interesting Made-Up Fact!" about lizards turning pink when they barf. Strangely, this is the only "Interesting Made-Up Fact!" in the book. I could understand it if these were scattered throughout the book, but just one is confusing and odd. In addition, younger children may not understand the concept of a made-up fact in the context of a nonfiction book. Finally, while she initially writes about barfing anywhere, Carlson ends up focusing on throwing up at school. It might have been helpful to cover other locations.

Overall Book Score: good