NEW FICTION
The World Of Poo by Terry Pratchett is published in hardback by Doubleday, priced £12.99. Available now.

Geoffrey is a young boy with a passion for poo, so when he is sent to stay with his surprisingly tolerant Grand-mama in the big city of Ankh-Morpork, he starts collecting exhibits for a special museum.

As he collects bird, dog, hippo, wyvern and gargoyle droppings, he meets people who rely on waste to make a living, from lowly night soil men and aristocratic lavatory inventors to entrepreneurs who know that where there's muck, there's brass, and "white pearls" fetch a good price from the leather tanners.

Terry Pratchett's hugely successful Discworld series has spawned a number of spin-offs, and there are many references to established characters. But grown-up fans, their young children and first-timers should all enjoy this scatological addition, which is filled with puns and snippets of unexpectedly fascinating information.

After all, who hasn't wondered about how the world worked before plumbing?
9/10
(Review by Natalie Bowen)