The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew it Was None of His Business: 30th anniversary edition (CBH Children / Picture Books)

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To find out who committed the crime of dropping a turd on his head. (This is basically a mystery story. In fact, an alternative title is: The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit.) OPPONENT OF THE LITTLE MOLE WHO KNEW IT WAS NONE OF HIS BUSINESS The illustrations by Wolf Erlbruch are classic and were deemed such by The Netherlands in 2012. The colourful pencil drawings are delightful, filling each panel and complementing the font used. The posturing of Mole and expressions of the other animal characters are hilarious. The movement and creation of each “business” is accurate without being distasteful.

The layout and drawing style of the book reminded me very much of the tales from acorn wood collection and I think that's what caught Minnie's eye initially as she likes the mole in those stories. The only shit the mole has an aversion to is pig shit. Who would have guessed that pig crap is the only kind of animal shit that stinks? As someone who spent a lot of time on farms, I call bullshit on this one. Also, how can this mole complain about the smell of pig shit when it is likely eclipsed by the steaming heap of shit on his head? My sister recommended this to me, along with The Gruffalo and a few others, and she always has great recommendations. Aside from the fact - yes, fact - that little kids are fascinated by their own bodily functions, in its own way this book teaches you how to recognise the excrement of different animals and birds. Don't you just love it?! Whoever said ‘it’s impossible to rub a mole the wrong way’ had never met this little mole, who gets very salty and vengeful. Mind you, can’t say I’d be happy if someone pooped on my head, either. Chicago Tribune, Illinois, April 26, 1935 The little mole will question every animal in the vicinity until he finds the culprit. He will examine the turds to find a match for the one on his head. BIG STRUGGLEThere are two allies — the flies — they are experts in poo and are able to solve his mystery for him by landing on his head.) PLAN OF THE LITTLE MOLE WHO KNEW IT WAS NONE OF HIS BUSINESS The mole, being short-sighted, can't see who did it, so he asks all the animals around, but they show him how they do it and he can see that their poo is quite different (and all the while there's this big turd still on his head). There is no single great big struggle in this story, in which the mole must endure encounters with a number of animals. But the encounters do escalate — each pooh is worse than the last one, with the cow pancake being the worst of the lot. He does get spattered in poo, which can be likened to wounds in a big struggle. ANAGNORISIS OF THE LITTLE MOLE WHO KNEW IT WAS NONE OF HIS BUSINESS PSYCHOLOGICAL EPIPHANY Translated to English by David Bennet Books, Werner Holzwarth’s text is so much fun. The conversation between Mole and the animals always ends with “Me? No, how could I? I do it like this?”. The description thereafter and Mole’s impression are very funny. But mystery isn't enough for today's discerning readers. Children need education, the important stuff like literacy skills . . . and knowledge of the excremental variations of earth's fauna. At least that appears to be the premise inspiring this book, which doubles as a coprophiliac's fantasy. As the story progresses, mole gets shit on by birds, watches massive lumps of shit "thunder" directly from a horse's ass, and more.

And the book we got was a sound addition so not only did you get to read about the animals having a poo, you also got to press a button which then made the sound of the animal pooing.... Yay. I find little enjoyment in “Gastric emission” stories that are popular today, however, this one has an educational component and is quite amusing.I'd like to take a moment to speak of the poetic devices in this book. The onomatopoeia accompanying the scenes of shitting are accurate for the most part. The viscous excrement of the pigeon splashes and sploshes accordingly, for example. Poor Mr Mole pops his head out of his hole one day, only to get a nasty surprise landing on his head. He then sets out to find the culprit, asking several different animals on the way if it was them who pooed on his head.