Vegetables in Holiday Underwear brings the seasonal big-kid joy

Jared Chapman has cornered the market in joyful toilet training books. That’s a narrow niche, but for those parents who are trying to get their child out of diapers and into underwear this is the most important segment of books that you can read. Mind you, Vegetables in Holiday Underwear is not a wonky toilet training book. Instead, it’s the third book in this series by Chapman to illustrate that has vegetables (and sometimes fruits) talking about underwear (or bathing suits), wanting to wear it and having an amazingly fun time doing it. If there’s a kid from 3-7 years old in your orbit this book will provide laughs aplenty, and just might solve their diaper issue.

It’s the seasonal time of year and broccoli is clearly the adult in the room. Despite being the adult in the room he’s unsure what’s happening with underwear season or what to do with this box of decorations. All he’s trying to do is keep a book full of baby peas, carrots, beets and other veggies in line.

We see a giant eggplant in scratchy underwear. There’s a radish with a menorah. An ear of corn has Christmas lights tangled up around him. The potato is happy, wearing stretchy underwear and eating too much. Basically, Vegetables in Holiday Underwear is a snapshot of all us, in vegetable form.   

Each of us behaves in a way that one of the vegetables behaves in the book. Some of the peas are hyper, other vegetables are responsible, but they all want to have a good time. After all, it’s the holiday season and there is some seasonal underwear to put on. That is, unless you’re a baby and you can’t put on underwear because you’re unable to wear them due to age or ability.

That is the beauty of Vegetables in Holiday Underwear. It never uses the word ‘diaper’ directly. It always alludes to the fun that older people. It never speaks down to kids. Instead it shows them what they (and parents) know to be true about living life without being tied to a diaper. We see smaller vegetables, wearing something that resembles a diaper, being held back by everyone taller than them. Kids will get the idea, laugh along the way and potty train themselves.

Pre-k kids through kindergarten will love this book. The images are large, colorful and the message is one that they need to know. The text is big, simple and funny. I 100% credit the first book in this series for potty training our youngest child. Since then we’re still a fan, enjoying the vibrant images, laughing along to the vegetables and hoping that other families are enjoying it as much as we are.