Y’all, we just love books about poop in our household. Those are just the facts. And historical poop? Nonfiction poop? Come on. We’re in. Some of the formatting wasn’t quite for us but otherwise, a very good one to add to the list for middle grade kids. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. All opinions are entirely my (and my three young readers’) own.

Funny, gross, informative, and thoughtful, this is the perfect book to hand to budding scientists who aren't afraid to plunge into a stinky subject and digest some big concepts. Recommended.

Waist-Deep in Dung is a fun and quirky way for kids (and above) to learn about all the gross and dirty jobs out there, as well as why people would do them. There were also multitudes of branching off facts that tied in nicely and were informative in their own rights. For example, in the chapter dealing with leeches, you not only learned about the people who caught leeches and how, but also the medical uses of leeches in ancient times through current uses today. The author imposed some humor into the text and made it interesting to read in bite sized asides and chunks that work well with shorter attention spans. If I had one complaint about this book, it would be that sometimes it was hard to discern when you were in a branching fact and when you were in the main point of the chapter, but that may have something to do with it being an ARC and the format I was reading it in.

Overall, it was a great read and one I am looking forward to introducing into our library.

As fun as the poop jokes are, I appreciate the earnestness and accuracy with which Dr. Virnig writes this middle-grade look at disgusting jobs throughout history. She provides solid historical contextualization for why people might take these "disgusting" jobs (which highlights inequity as well) and describes the motivations and the job duties in an accessible way. The book ends abruptly, which I wasn't expecting, and there are some continuity issues; I'm hoping these will be resolved before the publication date.

This book is a perfect combination of gross and information. Every middle grade boy will love the gross humor within the book. This book is also a good dose of historical facts, even if they are intended to be potty humor. I loved this book and my son did as well.

A very interesting book on a topic kids love! A great way to combine learning with high interest. Students will love to read it for the poop and learn a lot along the way.

I loved this book and would highly recommend it for middle school kids and even science classes. It isn't just boys who think poop is funny and interesting, and this book does a great job going through history explaining jobs related to poop.
Other bodily wastes are covered too, and the reader will learn a great deal of history. Ancient Egypt, industrial revolution London, and modern India are just a few of the times you will learn about.
The tone was engaging and funny, and the writer clearly felt sympathy for people who had to spend their lives working in terrible conditions. I only wish it hadn't ended so abruptly.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m always on the lookout for interesting juvenile nonfiction - they’re a perfect desk read (easy to put down when patrons approach with questions, can be read over several weeks without losing track of what’s happening). This one is just as gross as advertised, given the title! It traces different “gross” professions throughout history - though the sections are broken into thematic order rather than chronological. The first section details “blood, medicine, and dead bodies,” but we quickly get into grosser, poopier territory. You can’t say the title doesn’t warn you what’s coming! I also like that it begins with a foreword, warning you one last time what you’re about to get into, and also explaining *why* people might have wanted to take these disgusting-sounding jobs. Sometimes people actually enjoy them, sometimes they’re just stuck because there are no other jobs, sometimes they’ve been forced into it…there’s a whole host of reasons why someone might be shoveling poop or studying maggots. There’s also a nod to the time period - many of these jobs were done centuries ago, and we have to remember that we are viewing this through a modern lens (reading this on my Kindle really drives that home!).

Suffice it to say, there’s some really gross stuff here! If that’s your bag, then great - you’ll definitely enjoy this. If you, like me, are more interested in the medical side of things, maybe stick with Part One and leave Part Two for friends with stronger stomachs.

It was a little too gross for me. Even though it clearly says what the Book is About, you don't realize how indepth they go about different jobs.

A fun look at gross jobs. I learned SO MUCH and I think kids will love this one. The cartoons felt a little more adult but other than that, really great.

This was interesting, educational, entertaining, and funny.
The book is aimed at young readers, but it would be very enjoyable for adults also. I laughed out loud. Many younger children may not be able to handle this content. However, many would find it amusing. As an adult who is interested in history, I found it very informative.
The book is well written and researched. It includes fun drawings to illustrate the concepts being described.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let’s be honest, kids love gross things which means they’ll love this book. It was fascinating to learn about all these jobs throughout history that you’ve likely never thought about. I’ll definitely add this to my classroom library because I know students will enjoy the book.

I could not get past the first 20 pages. When the topics jumped or changed suddenly, I was confused... and I'm an adult.

This was a very interesting and informative book. Great for kids that are fans of history and all things gross or yucky. Maybe don't read while eating a meal, haha!

💩 I’m beginning to fear everyone is going to start thinking of me as the Poo-Reviewer, but I simply love books like this! So here I am with another poo-related book… along with many other gross things!

☠️ This middle-grade nonfiction book provides a lot of interesting information about some of the world’s most disgusting jobs throughout history. Readers will learn about people who deal with dead bodies (embalmers, grave robbers), maggots (entomologists), urine and feces (tanners, nurses), sewers (treasure hunters called toshers), and more! The pages are packed with scientific, historical, and sometimes hilarious information about some extremely nasty jobs… some of which still exist today!

🩸 Anyone who thinks nonfiction is boring should read this book! It is full of interesting history and science with a pinch of humor to boot! Kids will love it and learn from it, which is the best thing ever IMO!

Thank you @NetGalley and #MacmillanChildrensPublishingGroup #GodwinBooks for an eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Discusses terribly jobs through history involving poop, pee, vomit, dead bodies, and other disgusting things.

This book was definitely written with upper elementary school and middle school kids in mind. It has a lot of poop, and jokes although some of the jokes at hit a little more mature than I think the target audience is. Tone is often very irreverent and great for 4-8th graders. Virnig definitely did a lot of research and lists many references. I feel like because of the amount of information she wanted to share that the flow is sometimes disrupted with some of the sidebars.

Overall though, this was a fun read and would likely be well loved.

This is a good one. Nonfiction can be so boring, this book totally isn’t! Who doesn’t love poop, pee, vomit, a little death? I know this is labeled middle grade but it could totally be used as a high school nonfiction read. In fact, ninth graders, who often take World History, would love this. Everything, even the tangents, are fun and educational. Plus, it’s got some very lame dad jokes sprinkled around. Mainly just a lot of great history. Highly recommend!

Totally gross, totally hilarious, totally perfect for MG kiddos. I know I would have loved this informative book as a kid, and I would have loved sharing the gross facts with my parents at inopportune moments. What a great way to teach kids about history!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I really wanted to love this book, and I imagine that once it gets closer to publication, I’m hoping that some of the continuity issues and abrupt anti-climactic conclusion will be remedied. The content is entertaining for middle grade ages, but there were some anecdotes that strayed unnecessarily from the topic and into some borderline inappropriate content (like who Anne Boleyn was sleeping with) that may cause it to not be adopted by some middle school or upper elementary school libraries. The included images were rough sketches of what’s likely going to be more refined comic-style, which were entertaining for the most part- some were borderline inappropriate (Henry VIII’s behind was pictured unnecessarily), and a few were a bit irrelevant. This ARC was definitely one of the most “rough” that I’ve seen, so I’m really hoping that this is simply a very, very early, unedited copy. It could be a really interesting book for this age group, but there are some hang ups that seriously detracted from the book as a whole.

Waist-Deep in Dung describes some of the worst jobs in history including barber/surgeons of the middle ages and sewage workers up to the 20th century in India. The book is easy to read and includes many interesting facts. There are short antedotes relating to the jobs being described and puns littered throughout the story. I did question whether some of the facts were age appropriate depending on the grade level of the reader and the art in the e-book left a lot to be desired. I also thought the book ended quite abruptly without a conclusing chapter.
I received this advanced readers copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.