- Picture Books
- Ages 3–6
- Comedy
The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew it Was None of His Business
A gleefully rude, endlessly rereadable classic in which a mole, hit on the head by a mystery poo, sets out to find the culprit. A toilet-humour picture book that also teaches a whole zoo's worth of droppings.
- Best for3–6
- FormatPicture
- Length24 pp
- Read aloud~5 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Repetitive
- Conversational
- Comedic
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Irreverent
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
One sunny morning the little mole pokes his head out of his hole and something lands on it. Something brown, something round, something distinctly unpleasant. Outraged, he sets off to discover which animal did it, marching from pigeon to horse to hare to goat to cow to pig, each demonstrating exactly what its own business looks like. With help from two very knowledgeable flies, the mole finally identifies the guilty party, a butcher's dog, and takes small but satisfying revenge before disappearing back underground. Werner Holzwarth's deadpan repetition and Wolf Erlbruch's expressive, comically detailed illustrations turn a single silly premise into a picture-book institution, translated into dozens of languages and beloved by generations of children (and the adults reading it aloud). Funny, factual and gloriously unafraid of its subject, it is a guaranteed giggle and a sly introduction to animals and their very different habits.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
A read-aloud sweet spot from about 3 to 6, when the toilet humour lands hardest and the repetition invites joining in. Early readers of 5 to 7 can tackle the short, patterned text themselves.
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- Best fit · 3–6
- Read aloud · 3–6
- Independent · 5–7
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
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
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Toilet humour
- Read aloud
- Reluctant readers
- Animal facts
- Funny stories
Avoid if
- Dislikes toilet humour
- Wants gentle bedtime
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
- Potty training
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
It is the funniest kind of mystery: a mole with a poo on his head, marching round asking every animal to prove it wasn't them, and getting a very satisfying bit of revenge at the end. Children adore the rudeness and the repeated punchlines.
- Being a detective
- Trickery and cleverness
Why parents love it
A picture book that has survived decades of read-alouds for good reason: the repetition begs to be performed, the animal facts sneak in real learning, and children never tire of the daft, dignified quest. A dependable crowd-pleaser.
- Shared humour
- Beloved classic
- Quick to read
About the creators
About the creators.
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