- Illustrated Chapter Books
- Ages 7–10
- Comedy
The Day I Fell Down the Toilet
A gleefully silly, fully illustrated adventure from actor Stephen Mangan and artist Anita Mangan, in which a boy who can never make up his mind is flushed into the land where jokes are made and must pick the funniest joke in the world.
- Best for7–10
- FormatIllustrated
- Length304 pp
- Read aloud~4 hr20 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Comedic
- Conversational
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Irreverent
- Whimsical
- Absurdist
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Timothy Trench cannot make a decision to save his life, which is a problem, because after being accidentally flushed down a toilet he lands in Jokeland: the country where all the world's jokes are made. Disaster has struck. The Queen has completely lost her sense of humour, joke-production has ground to a halt, and the people are desperate. Their last hope is Timothy, who must do the one thing he is worst at, choose, and crown the single funniest joke in the land before laughter disappears forever. Packed with Anita Mangan's exuberant illustrations on every page and stuffed with jokes, wordplay and gloriously daft toilet humour, this is a high-energy, laugh-out-loud romp from the bestselling creators of The Fart that Changed the World. Perfect for newly confident readers who want a big, funny, brilliantly silly story to race through.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
A big, illustration-heavy comedy that works from about 7 for confident readers, or younger as a read-aloud. The abundant pictures and non-stop jokes make it especially good for reluctant readers up to about 10.
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- Best fit · 7–10
- Read aloud · 6–10
- Independent · 7–10
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
High
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
5 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Reluctant readers
- Loves jokes
- Toilet humour fans
- Funny read aloud
Avoid if
- Dislikes toilet humour
- Wants quiet stories
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
Falling down a toilet into a whole country where jokes are invented is a brilliant premise, and the chaos, from runaway processions to an all-out food fight, is relentlessly silly. Anita Mangan's pictures burst off every page.
- Adventure and freedom
- The underdog winning
- Secret world
Why parents love it
A generously illustrated, jokes-per-page romp that pulls reluctant readers through 300-plus pages without noticing. Actor Stephen Mangan's timing and Anita Mangan's artwork make it a fun family read-aloud too.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
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Books that share themes and topics with this one.
