Mistakes That Made Us: Confessions from Twenty Poets by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mercè López (Carolrhoda Books, 40 pages, grades 2-5). Twenty children’s poets reveal mistakes they made as kids and the lessons they learned from them. Some are funny, like Darren Sardelli’s glue on the toilet seat prank that ultimately made him a little less impulsive, others are more poignant, like Kim Rogers’ silence when she, a Native girl, was made to participate in the Land Run reenactment at her Oklahoma elementary school. And many of them, like scoring a goal for the other team or cutting your hair due to peer pressure are things that readers will relate to, whether they are children or adults. Each poem is accompanied by a paragraph in which the author tells a little more about the incident and what they learned from it.

These would make great writing prompts for kids to explore their own mistakes and what they learned from them. They’re also just fun to read and realize that we all share similar experiences, and the best thing to do when a mistake is made is to admit it, ask for forgiveness if necessary, and move on.

How to Pee Your Pants*: *The Right Way by Rachel Michelle Wilson (Feiwel and Friends, 32 pages, ages 3-6). It happens: you get caught up in what’s going on in class, you drink too much lemonade at lunch, or maybe you fall asleep, and the tried-and-true methods of crossing legs or holding your breath fail you. So what happens when you pee your pants? The owl protagonist offers some humorous ideas, including hiding the evidence, calling for help, or shooting a rocket into space in the hope that an alien will stop by with some dry clothes. If you find yourself in the embarrassing position of having to sit on bubble wrap while waiting for a change, remember that adults may have forgotten what it’s like to pee your pants (they’ll remember in a few years). The number one (pardon the expression) rule is this: if you come across someone else in a similar situation, remember to be the friend that you wish you had when you peed your pants.

We’ve all been there (and reading this book, you’ll realize you may be there again some day), and this funny and reassuring look will help kids get past what can be a humiliating experience, and remind everyone to be kind if it happens to someone else.