Feelings Are Like Farts - Christopher Willard & Tara Wosiski - ★★★.½

AUTHOR: Christopher Willard & Tara Wosiski

ILLUSTRATOR: Toshiki Nakamura

NARRATOR: Tim Campbell

GENRE: Children's Picture Book - Audio Version.

PUBLICATION DATE: April 8, 2025

RATING: 3.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: Possibly the most creative exploration of feelings I have ever read! Love how it combined the two troublesome F words (Feelings and Farts, ye of dirty mind!) and establishes the similarity between them. A great book for kids – fun and educational.

________ are a necessary part of being human. All of us have ________. We can sense ________ building up in our body at times, but sometimes, they pop out unexpectedly. Depending on the type of ________, the resultant explosion can be hilarious or stinky or embarrassing. Holding onto the ________ until we reach a safe place isn't always possible. At times, it is just better to let ________ out immediately. Don’t worry much about the consequences, because all ________ pass in a while and you will feel better afterwards.

Each of the above blanks can fit in two words: “Feelings” or “Farts”. Thus you see the brilliance of the potent simile in the title. Both feelings and farts involve paying attention to yourself and your body.

Most kids are fond of toilet humour. (Some of us don’t outgrow it even in adulthood! 🤭) So this book is a brilliant way of grabbing kids’ attention towards understanding their bodies and their feelings (and farts) without feeling awkward.

The audiobook clocks at just 5 minutes. The narrator Tim Campbell has the perfect voice to narrate this work, enunciating clearly and stressing in all the right places. However, I felt like the audiobook was over even before I could properly get into it. This might be a ME problem; I never read children's picture books on audio as I love illustrations as much as the textual content. However, the title was too fabulous to resist! Plus, Macmillan audiobooks always have great production. So I wanted to see if this audio came with some fartilicious sound effects. It did! However, there is much background music so the comical toots get drowned out. Also, I feel that kids might miss out on the deeper intent of the book if they listen to the audio because their attention will be more focussed on the farts than on the metaphor with feelings.

I did miss the illustrations, so I took a peek at the sample illustrations available on Edelweiss. They match the vibe on the cover - monochrome graphics in a slightly blurry art style. Not my kind of graphics, but they do work for the story.

All in all, this book adds a new depth to feelings (and farts.) It is a simple way of learning more about how to handle complex feelings (and farts) and let go as needed. Children might enjoy this light-hearted approach towards the serious issue of tackling difficult feelings (and farts.)

I still prefer reading children's books, but the narrator and the sound effects make this a viable option for those who enjoy children’s picture books on audio. The content is right for ages 4-8.

My thanks to Macmillan Audio and Macmillan Young Listeners for providing the ALC of “Feelings Are Like Farts” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.