Author, columnist, fashion designer, beauty entrepreneur, CEO, ambassador, television producer and writer of the wittiest Instagram captions, Zoe Foster Blake, has done a new thing because she must be overwhelmed by how much spare time she has on her hands.
The mum of two, who gave birth to Rudy Blake only a few months ago, has written a children’s book titled No One Likes a Fart.
“As an avid reader and deeply reverential fan of picture books, it was immensely pleasurable to have a crack at my own, the result of which wafts fragrantly above,” Foster Blake wrote on Instagram earlier this week, when the book was officially released.
And just like a powerful, unidentified fart, Foster Blake’s book has everyone talking.
All over Australia, mums are raving about the picture book, describing it as “hilarious” but also bizarrely “touching”, with many insisting that it will make the perfect Christmas present.
But does No One Likes A Fart really live up to the hype?
The stunningly illustrated and tongue-in-cheek picture book reads like it was written by, you know, an actual writer.
LISTEN: We speak to Zoe Foster Blake on I Don’t Know How She Does It. Post continues below.
Every celebrity and their dog has released a children’s book in recent years, with a common misconception being that because they consist of few words and rely heavily on pictures, they’re easy to throw together.
This is a myth.
A children’s book, it must be said, is potentially harder to write than a thick work of adult fiction. Have you ever tried to entertain a four-year-old for 10 minutes without a screen? I rest my case.
What makes a brilliant picture book is rhythm. Simplicity. A sense of joy. But most importantly, a lesson.
No One Likes a Fart explores the life of Fart, who grows increasingly sad because everyone thinks he smells bad.
He floats around, an awful green cloud of… gas… with a hopeful smile on his face, hoping to make friends.
But no one wants a bar of him because LITTLE FART SMELLS EXACTLY LIKE FART AND THAT’S GROSS.
Here’s the catch, though.
No One Likes a Fart isn’t actually, really, about farts at all.
It’s about friendships. And accepting people for who they are. It’s about finding your tribe and developing resilience when people yell at you, “WHAT DID YOU EAT FOR BREAKFAST, BRO? TWENTY FARTS? EW!”
And we’ve all been there.
Like always, the mums are right. No One Likes a Fart will make the perfect Christmas present.
But maybe buy it online, because saying the word ‘fart’ in front of a middle-aged woman in Dymocks is enough to make anyone feel slightly (highly) uncomfortable.