The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Gross Junior Edition, by David Borgenicht, Nathaniel Marunas and Robin Epstein (illustrated by Chuck Gonzales)

I pride myself on having a pretty strong stomach…after all I am a mother, and I do work with other people’s children on a daily basis, but I do have to admit there were a couple of moments during reading that sent my stomach for a twirl.

Broken down into the chapters of “The Human Body”, “Home”, “School” and the “Wild Kingdom” readers are treated to fast paced facts and tips about all things gross and coping with those things. From boogers to farts (and laying the blame), from drinking fountains to finding the cleanest stall, readers will delight in the disgusting mix of facts (did you know we make and swallow 4 juice boxes worth of snot a day?), and techniques for fixing problems from bad breath, to lice, to getting rid of skunk smell.

The perfect ratio of illustrations to text rounds out this quick read that will easily have kids gathered around and exclaiming loudly as they share. Tweens tend to be on the cusp of being worried about cool and delighting in all things disgusting. Being in a classroom with these kids has taught me to expect a myriad of sights and smells from day to day, and The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Gross Junior Edition will bring some humor and levity to the horrors of everyday puberty and school life as well as bringing cool little known facts about wild animals, insects, and diseases to light. There are also some cool end papers with recipes for making face snot, fake puke, fake poop and fake blood.

Fun, fun, fun.

But be warned.You may not want to read this one on a full stomach!