Saturday, April 24, 2004
'Farting Dog' teaches tolerance: author
Its funny, I ran across this article about a children’s novel called “Walter the Farting Dog”, I bought this book for my sisters little guy. Who would have thought that it in turn would teach him something other that just something for a good laugh. You know if you have been around children at all you know that the bodily function of farting is so humorous to them it sends them into rage fits of laughter.
Humour and the "f-word" -- fart-- may initially attract children to the Walter the Farting Dog books, but the co-author of the best-selling series believes there's more to it.
"Kids love scatological detail and bodily functions," Murray admitted. "But Walter has an extra charm, I think, and a message of acceptance and tolerance and making the best of a bad situation."
Murray, a Fredericton-based writer and educational technology supervisor, co-authored Walter the Farting Dog and its follow-up Walter the Farting Dog: Trouble at the Yard Sale with his friend William Kotzwinkle, a writer based in Maine.
The books tell the story of the titular pooch and the troubles he gets into because of his uncontrollable and unpleasant bodily function. In the end, however, Walter always saves the day.
Released in 2001, the first Walter book has sold approximately 500,000 copies in North America and, already translated into French and Spanish, will soon appear in Latin, Vietnamese, Korean and Hebrew. Trouble at the Yard Sale, which hit bookshelves this month, is set for similar success: printed in a dozen languages, the book raced up the New York Times Children's Bestsellers list.
The Walter stories may not be great literature, but they are attracting children to books, says Susan Perren, children's book columnist at the Globe and Mail.
Its funny, I ran across this article about a children’s novel called “Walter the Farting Dog”, I bought this book for my sisters little guy. Who would have thought that it in turn would teach him something other that just something for a good laugh. You know if you have been around children at all you know that the bodily function of farting is so humorous to them it sends them into rage fits of laughter.
Humour and the "f-word" -- fart-- may initially attract children to the Walter the Farting Dog books, but the co-author of the best-selling series believes there's more to it.
"Kids love scatological detail and bodily functions," Murray admitted. "But Walter has an extra charm, I think, and a message of acceptance and tolerance and making the best of a bad situation."
Murray, a Fredericton-based writer and educational technology supervisor, co-authored Walter the Farting Dog and its follow-up Walter the Farting Dog: Trouble at the Yard Sale with his friend William Kotzwinkle, a writer based in Maine.
The books tell the story of the titular pooch and the troubles he gets into because of his uncontrollable and unpleasant bodily function. In the end, however, Walter always saves the day.
Released in 2001, the first Walter book has sold approximately 500,000 copies in North America and, already translated into French and Spanish, will soon appear in Latin, Vietnamese, Korean and Hebrew. Trouble at the Yard Sale, which hit bookshelves this month, is set for similar success: printed in a dozen languages, the book raced up the New York Times Children's Bestsellers list.
The Walter stories may not be great literature, but they are attracting children to books, says Susan Perren, children's book columnist at the Globe and Mail.
