5 Great Books about Getting Dirty

I Really Like Slop!, by Mo Willems
BFFs Gerald and Piggie are back in this brand-new Mo Willems book all about friendship, trying new things, and—what else?—the titular slop. Piggie really likes slop—yummy, yummy slop—and she wants her friend Gerald to try some. Never mind that putrid smell and the flies circling the bowl of green sludge Piggie holds in her hooves. As she tells Gerald, “Eating slop is part of pig culture,” but can Piggie’s elephant pal really put aside his own preferences (and taste buds) to try a tiny bite of the slop in order to spare Piggie’s feelings? Willems produces another funny and endearing Elephant & Piggie book, this time with a side of ick that kids will find hilarious.

Mud Puddle, by Robert Munsch
Renowned children’s author Robert Munsch’s first published book, Mud Puddle, tells the story of Jule Anne who really tries to keep her new clothes clean. But every time she goes outside, a mud puddle jumps on her (likely story, Jule Anne). Each time she goes back into her house, and her mother scrubs her clean. Jule Anne puts on fresh clothes and ventures back out, only to have that sneaky mud puddle jump on her again. Finally, she devises a clever scheme to destroy the mud puddle, involving bars of “smelly yellow soap”—everyone knows mud hates soap. Kids will love this silly story full of delightful repetitive text, humor, and big gloppy bits of mud with a mind of its own.

Harry the Dirty Dog, by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham 
Harry’s tail, er, tale offers an excellent scare tactic for children who don’t like baths: If they don’t bathe, you may not recognize them, and they won’t get to live at your house anymore. (Because that’s a normal thing to tell kids, right?) The beloved Harry is a spry white dog with black spots who likes everything—except taking a bath. One day he runs off and gets so dirty that he turns into a black dog with white spots, and when he returns, his family doesn’t believe it’s him—until they give him a good bath. The kiddos will like seeing Harry’s dirty transition from white to black as he plays in filthier and filthier places—be prepared to explain what a coal chute is, though (and afterward, can you please explain it to us?).

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, by James Dean and Eric Litwin
Pete the Cat is our spirit animal. He’s just such a cool cat, who takes life as it comes. And every kid will likely identify with Pete’s joy of slipping on a new pair of shoes. Naturally, though, his kicks are bright white (every parent’s fave color for kids’ wear). But soon he steps into a pile of strawberries, blueberries, and then mud, turning his white shoes red, blue, and brown, respectively. But does he cry about getting his shoes messy? No way! He has such a positive outlook on life and such a groovy outlook as he sings his song, that kids won’t be able to help but love this blue cat and his awesome ’tude.

I’m Dirty!, by Kate and Jim McMullan
The star of this cute counting book is a dirt-loving backhoe loader—perfect for construction site–loving kids. And this guy’s got a dirty job to do as he cleans up a vacant lot and counts down from 10 to one, enumerating an alliterative list of grungy items: “10 torn-up truck tires,” “4 cat-clawed couches,” “2 tossed-out toilet seats,” and more. I’m Dirty works as an awesome readaloud with its noisy sound effects—“Ugh! Arrrrrrrgh! Mmmmmmmmmph! Tim-berrrrrrrr!”—and colorful illustrations.
What’s your favorite picture book about getting dirty?