Peek-a-Boo Poo is a children's book by Lisa Regan.
It concerns a two-year-old boy named Alfie, whose parents are trying to toilet train him, but he rebels by pooping in random places. Yep, it's that kind of book, though he does improve by the end. Side characters include his parents, his older sister Kate, his older brother Charlie, and his pets Mr. Tibbles (cat) and Buster (dog).
It has a sequel, called Peek-a-Boo Poo, Number 2, set later, in which Alfie has now matured into a more well-mannered little boy, but his younger sister Heidi has started doing the same thing and he sets out to stop her.
This book provides examples of
- Ambiguous Situation: In the second book, it's said to be unknown if Heidi pooped in the real-estate man's hat just out of laziness, or as a game.
- Animal Lover: Alfie's introduction describes him as loving pets.
- Bratty Half-Pint:
- Downplayed for Alfie in the first book. He does poo everywhere, but he's also described as a happy, giggly boy, and when his mother tells him off, he uses his potty without a struggle.
- Played straight for Heidi in the second book — right off the cuff, she's described as a "terror", and she's extremely messy and splashes at bath time. Also, while Alfie initially refrained from using the potty due to fear (only to get carried away and keep doing it as a game once he was no longer scared), Heidi has no such excuse and seemingly did it just for the giggles, and unlike Alfie, she keeps doing it even when told not to.
- The Compliance Game: In the sequel, the mother tries to get Heidi to use her potty chair by putting a teddy bear on it and saying, "Watch Teddy."
- Formally-Named Pet: The cat, as revealed in the second book, is named Mr. Tibbles.
- Gross-Out Show: The whole book, and its sequel, focuses on a toddler pooping in random places and other characters discovering the poop.
- In-Series Nickname: Alfie is sometimes called Alf.
- Intentional Mess Making: The reason why Alfie is pooing all over the show is so that he won't have to use his potty. The same applies to Heidi in the sequel.
- Jar Potty:
- Places where Alfie poos include a pan, his father's shoe, a pot, and Kate's shower cap.
- In the second book, Heidi poos in Mr. Tibbles's bowl, her father's briefcase, the real estate man's hat.
- No Full Name Given: It's never stated what Alfie's surname is, nor that of Kate's boyfriend Colin in the sequel.
- Nose Nuggets: Apparently, snot is commonly seen running down Heidi's face.
- Not So Above It All: The second book establishes that Alfie is growing up and is a lot more refined than when he was two... but it also states that he enjoys flushing the toilet.
- The Pig-Pen: Heidi in the second book — she's a terribly messy eater, she wipes her nose on her arm, and of course, she poops in random places like her brother did at her age.
- Platonic Kissing: Alfie kisses Heidi in the second book while washing her teddy bear.
- Pooping Where You Shouldn't: Exaggerated. The entire plot hinges on Alfie (and Heidi in the sequel) taking dumps everywhere.
- Shared Family Quirks: In the sequel, Heidi starts pooing everywhere, just like her older brother Alfie did at her age.
- Stock Animal Name: Alfie's dog is named Buster, while his cat is named Mr. Tibbles.
- Swiper, No Swiping!: All it takes for Alfie to stop defecating everywhere is for his mother to tell him not to.
- Toilet Humour: The show's main joke is characters reacting to a toddler's poo.
- Toilet Training Plot: The plot of the book is that Alfie's parents are trying to get him to use his kiddie potty, and in the next book, they're trying to do the same with Heidi.
- Took a Level in Kindness: While Alfie wasn't mean in the first book, he still went on a spree of pooping in random places. By the next book, however, he's much more mature, considers his past habits to be an embarrassing secret, and wants to teach his sister how to poop in the right place.
- Unnamed Parent: Alfie's parents are known only as Mummy and Daddy, and his grandparents are only known as Grandma and Grandpa.
- Visible Odor: When Alfie poops in a pan and in a pot, stink lines are seen.
