Who'd have thought that we needed a day to celebrate this bodily function? Well German cartoonist Bastian Melnyk thought so back in 2006.
Whether you try to hide it or not, we all fart. Everybody does, and as an average person in normal health, flatulence can happen between 10 and 20 times per day, and that is because we can produce about 500 to 1500 millilitres of gas per day.
The age-group of children I teach are fascinated with all bodily functions and children's authors and illustrators have certainly capitalised on that. If you type the word 'fart' into a bookshop website, hundreds of books come up. Most are of very little literary merit, maybe written by celebrities, but they do make children laugh and thus sell multitudes.
When I started in the school library there weren't a lot of books on this topic, so if a teacher sent for a book about flatulence because it was a problem in their classroom, I sent back a book like The Gas We Pass by Shinto Cho. This meant the children had a science lesson. They did not roll around laughing. Now it is much easier to find books, but I do not have a lot of the humorous ones in the library, as parents will buy these for their children at a department store.
The library has:
• The Gas We Pass by Shinto Cho
A simple and straightforward description of a natural process.
Jerboa is going about his day when he releases a squeaky, stinky toot which shocks the shy creature into thinking he’s done something wrong. Luckily, Elephant is on hand to weigh in with a wise word; after all, no matter how cheeky it might sound, EVERYBODY TOOTS!
Warning- this book may cause flatulence! Walter is a wonderful dog, except for one small problem. Gas. He can't help it. It's just the way he is. Fortunately, Billy and Betty love him in spite of his gas problems. But Father says he's got to go. He's smelling up the house. Poor Walter. He's going back to the dog pound tomorrow. There are four other books in this series.
Farley Frog needs to fart all the time - at home, at school, at the doctor's. This keeps getting him into trouble as you can imagine! But when he is banned from farting, he blows up like a big balloon and flies off into the air.
• I'm Trying to Love Farts by Bethany Barton
As long as there have been people, there have been farts. And as long as there have been farts, they've been hilarious! Bethany Barton explores the digestive system, how food becomes energy, and what our bodies do with what is left over. Equal parts funny and informative, it will leave you with a whole new appreciation for our bodily gases.
• Fluff the Farting Fish by Michael Rosen
Elvie is desperate for a puppy that she can train up to do amazing tricks. But it's not a puppy Mum returns from the pet shop with, it's a fish. Elvie trains up Fluff the fish. He can't sit, he won't bark on command, but he does have a very special fishy talent all of his own . . .
Marty isn't good at anything much at school, but he does have one highly unusual talent: his ability to fart on cue. Unfortunately it's not a talent that impresses many people, until he is discovered by farting coach, Mr Windybottom. Marty's amazing talent takes him into the secret, fantastic, highly competitive world of World Championship Farting!
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