Whether it’s Once Upon a Potty or Everyone Poops, children’s books that fall into the potty training specialty subgenre haven’t always been celebrated for their subtlety. Perhaps that’s why Émile Jadoul’s All by Myself! appeals so mightily to the folks at EBYR.

Here is a book that deals effectively with an important aspect of that crucial early childhood rite of passage — getting up to use the bathroom at night without waking Mom and Dad — in a way that is gentle, funny, and blessedly restrained.

In the story, Leon (a little penguin almost too adorable for words) regularly wakes up in the middle of the night because he has to go potty.  
   “Mommy!!” he cries, and Mommy Penguin rushes to help him.
  “Daddy!!” he calls, and Daddy Penguin comes to his aid.  
The longterm effects of this lifestyle on Mommy and Daddy Penguin are pretty clear.
But one day Leon discovers that grown-ups use the bathroom all by themselves, and he decides that he can too — all by himself!


This adorable book will delight young readers and parents alike — children, with its charming characters, cute illustrations, and punchline ending, and parents, with its lessons about independence and growing up.

Click here to order Émile Jadoul’s All by Myself!

Update: Watch the animated book trailer for All by Myself! below.