Bye-Bye Nappy, Hello Pants!
Squeak wants big pants like the big friends — right now. But big pants come when you feel ready, one small step at a time. A gentle story about readiness, practice, and getting there.
What the story does
Squeak's story is for the run-up to the pants milestone itself — the wanting, the trying, the days it works and the days it doesn't. It starts with Squeak wanting to skip straight to big pants because friends have them, and gently redirects that eagerness: readiness isn't something you can rush, but it is something worth noticing and celebrating as it builds.
Every stage in between gets its own page — the first wobbly try, the days that don't go to plan, the first real success — so the story models the whole process rather than skipping to a tidy ending.
It is short, warm, and rhymes all the way through, with one shared shout for the big day itself.
At a glance
- Ages 2–5
- Rhyming, read-aloud, around two minutes
- Ten story pages free online — the paperback adds a second story (20 story pages in all)
- Written and illustrated by Simone Fenn
- Notes for grown-ups on this page, with sources
one small step, nice and steady.”
Inside the book
Two stories, one paperback. Free online here, you get story one, “Bye-Bye Nappy, Hello Pants!” — Squeak's daytime big-pants day. The paperback also includes a second story, “Goodnight Nappy, Hello Night Pants!”, about the slower, separate journey to dry nights. The second story is print-only — it isn't on this site.
“Big pants come when you feel ready — one small step, nice and steady.”
“Then one day, Squeak does a wee — right in the potty, proud as can be!”
“No more nappies, hip hooray — big kid pants are here to stay!”
You can also colour this very story as you read it. Click Read it free above, then tap Colour it in on the toolbar to turn each page into line art to colour on screen or print.
Free colouring book
This story’s scenes are inside “Colour Me In”, a free twelve-page colouring book Squeak shares with Bo. Print it and colour along.
Free to print at home, for childcare or classroom use.
Bring Squeak home
A real paperback for the shelf, the car, or bedtime.
Linked to Amazon.ie — also available on Amazon in other countries; search “Bye-Bye Nappy, Hello Pants!” on your local Amazon store.
The paperback has two stories: this one, plus the night-time follow-up, “Goodnight Nappy, Hello Night Pants!”, which is print-only.
For the grown-ups
The thinking behind Squeak's story, and where the deeper reading lives.
Why the story leads with readiness, not a start date
Squeak wants big pants because a friend has them — a very normal reason for a child to want something, and not, on its own, a sign of readiness. Guidance points at signs rather than an age: staying dry for longer between changes, noticing when a nappy is wet or full, being able to get to the potty and sit down, and showing interest in the toilet itself. [1] The story's grown-up character says the line the whole book is built around — “big pants come when you feel ready” — rather than promising a date.
Starting earlier doesn't finish earlier
It can feel like getting into pants sooner is progress in itself. The evidence points the other way: children who start before signs of readiness appear tend to take longer overall, not less, and an earlier start doesn't reduce setbacks like accidents along the way. [2] There's more on this, with the full picture, in the readiness article linked below.
The practice pages matter as much as the success page
Squeak's book gives a whole page to the days that don't go to plan — on purpose. Praise that lands on noticing and trying, not only on a dry pair of pants, is what the guidance on praise and motivation tends to support, and it's a lot more available on the days nothing "worked". [3]
References
- American Academy of Pediatrics. Toilet Training. HealthyChildren.org. healthychildren.org
- Blum NJ, Taubman B, Nemeth N. Relationship between age at initiation of toilet training and duration of training: a prospective study. Pediatrics. 2003;111(4 Pt 1):810–814. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12671118
- NHS. Potty training your child. nhs.uk