Bodily functions have long been discussed with euphemisms, if discussed at all. Clever, cute and ironic terminology is applied (I was 20 before I understood the terms “powder your nose” and “freshen up”). I still ask “where’s the restroom?” as though I’m in need of a nap. The natural urge to expel bodily waste remains something of a stigma.
Fortunately for us all, bathroom humor has come out of the water closet, especially where kids are concerned, so as to avoid unnecessary stress. Various books have adopted the theme “everybody does it”—and my favorite in this genre is Toon Books’ Gotta Go! by Frank Viva, about young Owen, who did not “go” before leaving on a car trip to grandpa’s house. Along the way, as nature knocks loudly on his bladder, Owen learns tricks on how to keep it in. Never has bathroom humor been so true. I asked Viva to flush his illustrated tale out a bit in the following interview.
How did Gotta Go! get going?
I often jot down bullet points when something occurs to me that might lead to a picture book. I review them now and then for inspiration. The bullet point in question was about having to pee more frequently as I got older, and how it reminded me of being in the car as a kid and having “to hold in.” As a kid I wondered how my parents and grandparents managed to get up so early in the morning. I assumed that I was a lazy bum and they were motivated overachievers—something I would never be. As an older adult looking back, I realized that they probably had to get up early to pee. I reasoned that a picture book that can make a funny connection between kids and their grandparents might work since grandparents often buy picture books as presents. I suspect there will be a librarian or editor out there that can tell us that picture books targeting grandparents are a big category with a whole name and everything. The other dot that I connected was in an illustration I did for an MTA Artcard. There is a kid in the lineup of straphangers I had repurposed from an earlier illustration, and in that earlier illustration he was reacting to being rained on. I realized later that in the subway car, divorced from the rain, he looked like he was trying to “hold it in.” With an illustration and a few bullet points to show, I pitched the idea to Françoise Mouly at TOON Books (Gotta Go! is our fourth book) and we were off to the races.
We’ve seen books, especially from Japan, about No. 2. Was there a lack of books about No.1?
As soon as the chattering classes in the publishing world (my friends and accomplices) knew that I was working on the book, I was told of other books that had already been published about peeing and pooping. Fearing that I might be influenced or react for or against them in some way, I decided not to review them. I still haven’t.
Do you recall when going to the bathroom was something of a taboo?
Not really. In Canada we write our names in the snow.
Were you edited in a notable way to make the book palatable for parents and teachers?
Not at all. During the creation of the book I met with Françoise Mouly each week online to share what I had accomplished the previous week. Because these calls happened on weekends during the summer months, Françoise was often in the country with her family. After a few weeks the whole family got in on the action and would happily squeeze into the computer frame with comments. Nadja (an amazing writer and editor in her own right) would help when I was stuck on an awkward phrase or transition. Art would chime in with problems that puzzled me about comic panel sequencing or with a suggestion to have a look at this artist or that. From Paris, Dash provided a helpful list of comic sounds meant to convey an online game: PLINK!, DOINK! SPLAT! With Françoise overseeing it all, the process was fun and a sometimes laugh-out-loud experience.
It’s only nature, after all. So how’d the book do?
I’m not sure about sales. I have had some nice notes from readers. It got some good press. A starred review from School Library Journal. And this: “A tour de force that gives new meaning to ‘Ooooh’ and ‘Ahhh’ (New York Times Book Review). I have been told that you can’t go wrong when they use the phrase “tour de force” (even if there’s a bit of tongue-in-cheek at work) in a NYT book review. At this stage I’m just hoping it earns out the advance. From there, who knows? I’m just grateful that people pay me to have idle thoughts about peeing. Get it here.
