airann 1 #1 August 20, 2003 As per usual, I am minding my own business... I was looking at the Best Seller book list in last Sundays newspaper... ... and on the very last list as number one was an interesting bedtime story, me thinks. Houston Chronicle, Sunday, Aug 17 CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS 1) Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray, illustrated by Audury Colman. $15.95 2) Dear Mrs. LaRue 3) Philadelphia Chickens 4) Finding Nemo Soooo... For those who have offspring, tell me how you explain this fable? And for Audrey Colman, the illustrator... What does ole Walter look like when he is um, 'farting'? That reminds me... back in the day, while returning from the dz with Skeet (the great dane) I often wondered what the hell Scotty Carbone fed him.... ~AirAnn~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CLebsack 0 #2 August 20, 2003 Oh, I had to respond to this. My Hubby and I were visiting a relative in a hospital with a bookstore. We were there for a week or so and every time he would go past the store he would laugh and mention the book because he had seen it in there. Yah, he's a skydiver too and is amused by things like farting dogs. I wondered how he could find the title so funny and not have bought the book for our daughter or new son. Turns out the book is done in a very creepy/unsettling style and is not cute or funny at all. We couldn't think of an agegroup that would like it. I am sure it is the title alone that gets it on the children's bestseller list. Here is a review from B&N.com Walter, a fat gray dog with an apologetic look on his face, comes home from the pound with two children. He has incurable gas, and his family decides to take him back. The night before he is to go, Walter sadly devours "the 25-pound bag of low-fart dog biscuits the vet had prescribed for him, which had made him fart more.... A gigantic gas bubble began to build inside him." Wouldn't you know, two burglars break in, and Walter's liability becomes his asset. Predictable stuff, but Kotzwinkle (Trouble in Bugland) and education writer Murray know their audience. Their simple strategy just keep saying "fart" should have children rolling in the aisles during read-aloud. Newcomer Colman likewise fixates on one visual gag, Walter with steam blasting out his backside. Unlike Babette Cole, whose Dr. Dog takes a mock-scientific approach to digestion, Colman specializes in reaction shots; in her surreal collages of photos and patterns, people hold their noses and a cat glances at the culprit. Yes, this lowbrow endeavor could be a crowd-pleaser but, like its topic, its disruptive effects will tend to linger. Ages 4-8. ~Cindy~ p.s. how can the words fart farting and skydiver not be in the dz.com spellcheck? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
