Fear factor: gross-out books

Gross things will always fascinate kids. Do you remember the Garbage Pail Kids? If you're not the right age group to know what they were, it was a spoof on Cabbage Patch Kids - only gross. Super gross. They started out as trading cards and then later there was a movie. Some of the characters included Snotwich Sandra (who was eating a snot sandwich) and Heavin' Steven (a baby vomiting). All of them were covered in snot, vomit, or other stuff and they were a HIT.

Of course, this behavior isn't just isolated to kids. Remember the title of this post? Did you ever watch the show Fear Factor? It was a game show in the early 2000s that totally capitalized on people facing their fears. The thing is, most people's fears are about the gross and scary. "Here - stick your hand into this tank full of spiders to get the thing to move on to the next round." There was also usually a portion where they had to eat some gross thing to move on. People ATE. IT. UP. Literally (if you were a contestant) and figuratively (if you were a viewer). It was so popular that Universal Studios had live versions of the show where park-goers could participate. 

Why are people so fascinated with the gross? Is it because it's the first real taboo that we encounter? We're taught as kids early on not to play with poop - because it can carry disease, of course. The same goes for blood, vomit, mucus, etc. It's why we're all in masks right now. Maybe it's because all of those things come from our body. Human bodies are super weird and it's natural to be fascinated by them.

If you have a kid who is utterly enthralled by the gross, below is a list of books to try. I broke them up by category - animal, food, and human body - if you want a narrower range of choice. There is a miscellaneous category as well because some books just don't fit into one category.

 

 

Animal Grossapedia by Melissa Stewart - Did you know that Komodo dragons use their saliva to poison their prey, but mice use their saliva to heal their wounds? Could you guess that vomit is used by the sea cucumber to startle enemies and also by bees to make honey? Young readers will walk away grossed out and with an understanding of how different animals use spit, vomit, slime, poop, urine, and blood to survive.- (Scholastic)

My take: Whether your kid is fascinated by blood, vomit, urine, poop, or mucus - there is probably an animal in this book for them.

Animal Zombies by Chana Stiefel - Discover more than 50 creatures with unusual talents, find out what makes each animal tick, and whether they are truly "monsters" after all. You'll meet the "Mad Scientist" experts who study these creatures, explore the creepy origins of their mythical counterparts, and learn how these spooky adaptations help them survive. - (Random House, Inc.)

My take: Is it super gross? No. It definitely focuses more on facts about animals than the gross. If you have a kid who loves gross though, there are definitely

animals/facts in here to entertain them.

Animals Eat What?!: Barf and Poop by Holly Duhig - Ok. This is totally a gross book. Reading about animals eating their own barf and vomit (or their mother's) is still disgusting. To top it off, they rate each by look, taste, smell, and feel and give it a score. (Of course - the end of the book mentions honey, which is bee vomit). This is a fairly simple book to read however, so if you have a reluctant reader, the bigger pictures and fewer words will probably be a hit.

Animals Eat What?!: Blood and Guts by Holly Duhig - This book is very much like the one above - but somehow less gross? Maybe that's just me. The end of the book mentions blood pudding and haggis - which will likely gross out your kids, but are very tasty if you've never tried them.

Does It Fart? by Nick Caruso and Dani Rabaiotti - This book is very much in the vein of Will It Waffle, but for farts. Basically the book shows you an animal and asks "Does

it fart?", and then the reverse page shows the answer.  If you were wondering which animal farts the most, which animal's farts are the smelliest, or which use it for communication, then this book is for you! There is also a version of this for adults - in case you're an adult who gets a kick out of this.

Poopendous by Artie Bennett - This book is very much a Dr. Seuss book of poop. The book rhymes, but while it is shelved in non-fiction, the book is slim on facts. This book is great for reading to younger kids, or if your child is more wanting entertainment and less facts.

What Do They Do With All That Poo? by Jane Kurtz - This is another rhyming book about poop - but that's just if you read the text at the top of each page. At the bottom, each page goes into more detail about each animal's poop - what it looks like, smells like, how they poop, and if they use their poo for any purpose. The end of the book talks about what zoos do to get rid of all the poo - including landfills, animal health screening, compost, and paper!

 

 

Cool Creepy Food Art by Nancy Tuminelly - This is a book just focused on gross-looking recipes - most of which look like dismembered body parts. The first twelve pages of the book focus on cooking basics - there's an ingredients list and cooking tools, techniques, and vocabulary. The recipes are really simple, but some parental help is probably still necessary.

Cat Litter Cake and Other Horrifying Desserts by Ali Vega - Ok. Lots of gross cookbooks have the cat litter cake and/or worms recipes. I will say the recipe that impressed me most was the "Meat Treats". I do like the fact that this book has a table for metric conversions in the front.

Eek! Icky, Sticky, Gross Stuff in Your Food by Pam Rosenberg - Most of this book focuses on foods that other cultures eat that may not be familiar to American kids - mainly different types of animals. If you're not grossed out by that, never fear - there is a two page spread about the number of bug parts that is allowed by the FDA to be in various foods. It does encourage kids to think twice before

turning their nose up at these foods - because other cultures probably think our food is disgusting.

The Gross Cookbook by Susanna Tee - Yes, all the recipes *look* really gross (Big Green Boogers and Cat Poop in a Litter Box especially), but thankfully there are no weird ingredients or actual insects/poop/blood used. What I like about this book is between every couple of recipes there is a page with facts about weird foods eaten around the world. Some weird foods featured include durian, civet cat poop coffee, and wasp crackers - so your kid is still learning something if they're just reading the book and not making the recipes.

Tombstone Sandwiches and Other Horrifying Lunches by Ali Vega - What can be as awful to look at as it is awesome to eat? Your lunch! Learn how to create a variety of lunch entrees that are both repulsive and tasty. Cook up dishes like juicy bat wings, monster ramen, and bloody worm sandwiches. Cooking lunch has never been so much fun—or so gross! - (Baker & Taylor)

 

 

The Bacteria Book by Steve Mould - A fact-filled, introductory science reference introduces curious young minds to the world of bacteria, viruses, and other germs and microbes that are all around us but too small to see, sharing lavish artwork with explanations of the role of bacteria in everything from health and illness to food and the life cycle. By the author of the best-selling How to Be a Scientist. - (Baker & Taylor)

A Garden in Your Belly: Meet the Microbes in Your Gut by Masha D'yans - Your belly is full of tiny creatures--and they love to eat! Along the river of your gut, tiny creatures move, eat, and grow. Learn more about the garden of microscopic flora growing inside the body and come on a journey that explains an important biological concept: the microbiome, the health of which affects everything in our bodies. Did you know that some foods are better for your microbiome (and you!) than others? Striking, original watercolor illustrations keep things from getting too gross. - (provided by publisher)

The Secret Life of Boogers: All the Amazing Facts That Make Your Snot Spectacular by Mariona Tolosa Sistere - Snot might seem disgusting, but it's actually (s)not! In this delightfully gross yet informative look at boogers, readers learn that they are a very important defense mechanism for our bodies! Who knew? Boogers actually trap

viruses and bacteria in their sticky web, so your snot is really a superhero! Young readers (and grown-ups!) will delight in this snarky look at the science of snot and ultimately be able to identify what mucus is and why we need it - (Baker & Taylor)

Ugh! Icky, Sticky, Gross Stuff in the Hospital by Pam Rosenberg - Let's be honest - almost any reason you have for going to the hospital is going to be gross, just by fact that it involves the human body. And when the body is sick? Things get even grosser. This book covers a lot of jobs in the hospital - phlebotomist, surgeon - and procedures - transplants, sutures, etc. There is also a section on bacteria and diseases. If you think this will finally be a book free from urine/feces, think again. The end talks about bedpans and catheters. I do like that it encourages children who *aren't* grossed out by this stuff to consider a job in the medical field.

Weird but True: Human Body by National Geographic Kids - If it's a book that involves the human body, it has to be gross, right? There are actually some gross facts, but a lot of interesting ones too - like did you know that babies don't shiver? Or

that when you blush, your stomach lining does too? Yes, this book could be read cover to cover - considering there's only 1 - 3 sentences per page, it wouldn't take very long. It's also fun to just flip to a random page and read a fact. Unfortunately, the book doesn't go into any depth about the facts, so if you want more information, you'll have to go searching yourself.

You Wouldn't Want to Live Without Boogers by Alex Woolf - What if we didn't have mucus? The insides of our bodies would be very dry, and we would find it hard to digest our food. We would also quickly become sick, because mucus protects us from dirt in the air that we breathe. But what exactly is this sticky, slimy stuff we call mucus? What's it made of? Is it the same thing as snot? Why do we produce more of it when we have a cold? And what do animals like slugs and snails do with their mucus? You might find it a bit gross, but you wouldn't want to live without snot!- (Scholastic)

 

 

Ick! Yuck! Eew! Our Gross American History by Lois Miner Huey - Kids study US history, but do they know what life long ago was really like? The past was full of yuckiness. The sounds, smells, filth, bugs, rats, poor hygiene, lack of dental and medical care, and bad food are not portrayed at today's historic sites, in movies, or in most books about US history. Yet this kind of stuff appeals greatly to kids. The purpose of this book is to de-sanitize the past, present it as it actually was, and help kids come to an understanding of how people put up with it—or didn't even notice. - (Baker & Taylor)

Spit: What's Cool About Drool by Mary Batten - In Spit, renowned science writer and children's author Mary Batten examines everything that's cool about drool. Spit keeps your mouth moist. It begins digesting food the minute you take a bite. It keeps your teeth from wearing away. It keeps your tongue from choking you to death! But it isn't just humans that rely on spit, anything with a mouth needs saliva to keep functioning. A vampire bat has special saliva that stops its victim's blood from clotting. A spitting spider can trap prey in gooey saliva that it can spit in 1/700th of a second -- that's fast! And, if spitballs are your thing, perhaps try your hand at spitting antelope dung; the record, set in South Africa, is 51 feet! - (Firefly Books

Ltd)

Stink It Up!: a Guide to the Gross, the Bad, and the Smelly by Megan McDonald - They don't call him Stink for nothing! Kids can savor a smorgasbord of facts about smelly and vile stuff in honor of their favorite super sniffer. Did you know that a group of skunks is called a stench? (No lie!) Can you believe that in colonial days, window-washing rags were dipped in pee? Or that snail slime was once an ingredient in cough syrup? Stink has a nose for yuck and muck, and this book is full of it: moose poop festivals, mouse brain toothpaste, maggot cheese, and way more. Its pages are crawling with more than two hundred facts, quizzes, recipes, and bits of trivia about things that are gross, bad, and smelly. P.U.! - (Random House, Inc.)

This Book Stinks!: Gross Garbage, Rotten Rubbish, and the Science of Trash by Sarah Wasser Flynn - While there are some sections that are text-heavy in this book, there are also a *lot* of infographics - so I think this book would appeal to a broad range of ages.

Originally Posted by StephanieT on January 26, 2021