Gotta Go!, illustrated, graphic novel-esque that flows with fun

Why do children want to read books? For illustrated book audiences they want to read books because they’re weird, grab their attention, or have characters/situations that they know. It can be any one of those three or a combination of them. Gotta Go! is an illustrated book that runs with weirdness. Well it kind of runs, more accurately it waddles, twists, and oozes originality out of every panel. Panel, yes, Gotta Go! flows like a graphic novel, but is in an illustrated book package. The result is something that’s overwhelming fresh, original and probably not what you’re expecting.

A title like Gotta Go! sells itself as a book about going to the bathroom, and essentially, it is, but it’s also very different. It is not a book about potty training. Our titular character, Owen, is an elementary school-age kid who has mastered the art of not peeing in his pants a couple of years ago. He’s about to spend the day with his grandfather and really has to go to the bathroom once he gets there. Actually, he has to go to the bathroom when he’s in the car on the way there he’s just distracted by a video game. Once the distractions disappear he realizes how bad he really has to pee.

Owen arrives at his grandfather’s place just before the halfway point in Gotta Go! The rest of the book is devoted to the very silly story of what the two do in the park, countless potty puns, jokes that take a patient trip to the punch line, and over sized illustrations about Owen and his grandfather dancing in a silly manner. They dance, or move about in wacky ways because they’re trying to do the same thing that his video games did on the way to his apartment.

While the two have been jumping, wobbling, scooting, or wee-wee walking, a line of people has been steadily getting longer behind them. When the line of people, and one dog, is finally thirteen deep it’s revealed that the baker’s dozen is queued up for the restroom in the park. His mother shows up and asks him if he has to use the bathroom before they leave. This elicits laughter and a repeat performance of their various dances, which makes his mother laugh so hard that she threatens to pee in her pants. The book ends in a similar way, with mother and son in the car.

The graphic novel layout of Gotta Go! provides a lot of the book’s enjoyment. The vast number of panels allows the story to show minute details that don’t require dialogue; but speak volumes about the characters and the humor the book brings. The color of the characters alternate from silhouette black or orange to their normal, cartoon appearance.  This is contrasted nicely with the background that they operate in where it’s the opposite of what color they are now. The book does not live in a contrarian world, it mainly shows them in a relatively traditional vantage point, especially when our dancing duo are front and center.

Gotta Go! is a fast-paced, odd book that early elementary ages will like if they give it a chance. They might think that the book is about potty training and getting those new ‘big kids’ to go back to that mindset could be challenging. For story time, read aloud audiences, the concept of a book that’s ripe with the concept of peeing and frequent urination jokes could mean that you’re in for a heap of six-year-old kids who can’t sit still. This could be a great thing, if it’s at the right time of day and you don’t want the potential for unbridled silliness. Are you at home and want a book that funnels the chaos and creativity of kids who have just learned to master the flow? If that’s the case then Gotta Go! is an illustrated, graphic novel mash-up that runs with snappy dialogue and eye-catching graphics.

Gotta Go! is a Toon Book by Frank Viva and published by Toon Books, an imprint of Astra Publishing House.

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