This gross but clever book is perfect for reading aloud to children who want to Make Them Say POO. Read on for a Q&A by STEPHEN MINON.
MEET STEPHEN MINON
What inspired Make Them Say Poo?
During a family get together back in 2022, I observed the youngest child watching video after video of prat falls on YouTube, and the kid seemed endlessly delighted. I remember myself loving similar things, like the chef on Sesame Street at the end of the numbers sketch, falling down a flight of stairs with arms full of cream pies. People, especially adults losing control, is funny to kids. That realisation formed the genesis of Make Them Say Poo, which is a read aloud book where the adult is pranked by the child into embarrassing themselves—by saying the word poo as part of another word.
This book is meant to be read aloud – why was that important to you?
It sounds lazy to have a book read to you. But the idea was to encourage the child to listen and anticipate and deconstruct the words to recognise a key syllable (poo) as it is spoken as a part of other words. So, it’s a reading skills lesson masquerading as a joke book. When their adult inevitably says poo, the child is rewarded for being attentive.
What was your favourite part of creating this book?
Too much teaching talks down to children from the top. But Make Them Say Poo delivers its lessons from the bottom up (so to speak). I enjoyed tapping into my inner child as the author, to remember what I would have liked to see in a book.
How does humour help children learn things like phonics and reading?
They are rewarded for concentrating. That’s the thing about jokes. You don’t get them if you miss the punch line, so you have to listen. In the case of Make Them Say Poo, the rhyming helps make the listening fun and it helps the child to anticipate the arrival of the fun word (poo). It demonstrates how words can be broken down into syllables. So, even though a word like poodle might make you think of a dog, if you say it aloud, and break it down, you see the word poo is in there too. Dog—poo. See what I did there?
What do you hope children learn from your book while they’re laughing and having fun?
I hope that children will learn that reading can be fun and that parents can take a joke. There are two life lessons in there: about the power of words and how to laugh at your misfortunes.
Describe this book in three words!
Say the title.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steve MinOn (or Stephen when he’s naughty) was an internationally awarded advertising copywriter and a restaurateur before becoming a writer of children’s picture books and adult fiction. He grew up in North Queensland, and he now lives on Turrbal land in Magandjin/Brisbane. He won the Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer in the 2023 Queensland Literary Awards for his novel First Name Second Name (UQP 2025). Make Them Say Poo (Affirm Press 2026) is his debut children’s picture book.
Visit Steve MinOn’s website here.
Follow Steve MinOn on Instagram here.
Read more on the Simon & Schuster website here.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Rudi de Wet is a graphic artist and illustrator known for bold, colourful and energetic artwork that celebrates craft, character and joy. His practice spans illustration, character design, hand-drawn lettering, pattern work and large-scale interior artworks, created for a diverse range of clients and collaborations worldwide.
0 Comments