Over 30 years, and through over 3 million book sales, this rather grumpy little fellow has been delighting kids and it's another one of those cheeky books we just can't bear to part with.

"The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None Of His Business" by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch was a word-of-mouth recommendation from a good friend, and we bought it at a time when C was going through that age that practically all kids go through, where scatological humour is their be all and end all, and they just cannot resist any mere mention in children's books of farts, wees, poos or other bodily functions.

The story setup is deliciously simple. A mole pops his head out of the ground one morning, only to be dumped on by a mystery plopper. He then spends the rest of the book thoroughly investigating who could've done such a disgusting and heinous thing.



Once he finds out, he exacts a brilliantly fitting revenge.

There's a bit of natural history mixed into the comical story, as author and illustrator brilliantly depict all types of animal poos before they get to the nitty gritty of who the culprit was.



(Love the expression in that last panel)

Like all good children's books the core idea is simple but the execution is utterly brilliant. Well deserved of a permanent place on our shelves.

Original Review Link:

ReadItDaddy's Super Special 30th Anniversary Book of the Week - Week Ending 2nd August 2019: "The Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of his Business" by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch (Pavilion Children's Books)

C couldn't even talk back when we  originally reviewed this book but whenever we'd spot it at the library, she'd enthusiastically point at this, and once it was in her grasp she absolutely wouldn't let it go.

Like many kids who've encountered our super-special Anniversary "Book of the Week" choice this week, she was instantly drawn to the quirky little chap wearing his unintentional poo-hat on the cover of Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch's brilliant "The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew it was None of his Business"

As Pavilion celebrate the 30th anniversary of this book, I can't quite believe it's been ten years since we fell in love with it, let alone 30 since it first arrived so it was great to revisit the book clad in its new 30th Anniversary cover, and see what a cynical 11 year old thought of it now.

There are so many reasons to love this, the utterly subversive nature of it (and if we've learned one thing over 9 years of book blogging, it's that most kids - even 11 year olds - can't resist a scatologically themed giggly book like this).

On one level it's a classic revenge story, the sort of thing we wish modern children's books had the guts and audacity to deliver more often rather than sickly-sweet missives about friendship and discovering your true self.

The story of Mole innocently waking up one day, emerging from his hole, and ending up wearing a poo on his head  - then making it his mission to discover who was responsible via a hilarious journey of discovery amongst the plops, squirts, squits and bumbles of the animal kingdom - is completely timeless. It's also very funny - and we use the word 'funny' here not in the ironic sense of the usual 'funny' books. It's genuinely funny to see this angry mole blustering his way through a series of further poo-related near-misses as he sets out to achieve his goal and bring the miscreant to justice.

It's deservedly become a true classic in every sense of the word, and I've lost count of the number of folk who we recommended this to, and who eagerly sauntered off to pick up a copy.

Looking at it again, both of us were struck by how brilliantly irreverent and fresh it still feels. Sure, it's easy for children's books to rely on poo and bum gags for giggles, but there's more to this, there's  a (slightly grim) lesson about what animals poos look like, and if you look at the modern children's book market, there are quite a few non-fiction titles that owe more than a nod to this brilliant fictional story.

The illustrations are so good that you can almost smell them (yeek!), the story bounces along with the most satisfying pay-off you can imagine - and though there were a couple of follow ups, nothing quite matches the brilliance of this.

Check out the pavilion website for a ton of brilliant resources around this fab book

Sum this book up in a sentence: a ploppy-squishy but brilliantly well-formed firm stool of a tale that has become a complete classic, just as good now as it was when it was originally released 30 years ago.

Read our original OG review from 2010 here!

This is a quirky little book from Heinz Janisch and Wolf (The Little Mole who knew it was none of his business) Erlbruch. "The King and the Sea" is part moral tale, part fable wrapped up in Wolf's unique art style. A king muses on his life, his world and indeed his universe as he passes each day in his kingly splendour, wondering which part of his kingdom to visit.

With each interaction with his world, the king learns a new and vital piece of knowledge tucked away for when he may need it. He speaks to the sun, the waves, and even tiny creatures - but always believing that a king is superior to all. Is he right though?

Charlotte was in two minds about this book - drawn in by each of the king's conversations but left wondering what it all meant. The book is luxuriously presented and the illustrations are purposely kept fairly minimalistic in order to give proper focus to the story as it unfolds and the slightly brash and pompous monarch slowly becomes a more well rounded and affable chap. Charlotte didn't take to it at all but it's definitely something unique and original and fits perfectly with Gecko Press's commitment to producing fresh and innovative children's books

Charlotte's best bit: The very last page where the King goes for a much needed dip in the deep briny ocean

Daddy's Favourite bit: Quirky, original, definitely something different for your regal little ones!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Gecko Press)

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The Little Mole who knew it was none of his business by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch (Pavilion Children's Books)

Oh dear. Poo. It was never going to go down well with Mrs Peej but for a toddler there are few things in life more amusing than poo. People pooing but in particular animals pooing so it's good (bad?) that this book is chock-full of just about every type of animal poo you can think of. It's a tightly woven tale of revenge in the face of adversity. Our little mole hero strives to find out just who did a rather nasty curly one on his head, with hilarious consequences. 

Not exactly one for the weak stomached though and certainly not one for prissy parents. 

Charlotte's best bit: Horse poo. 

Daddy's favourite bit: The sweet revenge exacted by the mole on the wrongdoer. 

Rating: 3 out of 5