210 . Walter the Farting Dog Goes on a Cruise by William Kotzwinkle, Glenn Murray & Elizabeth Gundy

Walter the Farting Dog Goes on a Cruise by William Kotzwinkle, Glenn Murray* & Elizabeth Gundy. Illustrated by Audrey Colman
Walter the Farting Dog (4)

Rating: (4/5)

(US) - (Canada) - (UK)

2006, Puffin Books, 32 pgs

Age: 6+

"Everybody is having a great time on a cruise . . . until a terrible odor permeates the ship. All signs point to Walter, and so he is first banished down below, with the stinky cheeses, and then into a lifeboat to float behind the ocean liner. Then catastrophe strikes! How long will the great cruise ship and its frightened passengers be marooned on the high seas? About as long as it takes Walter to digest that cheese!"

My son received this as a gift a long time ago.  He`s clearing off his shelves and I thought I would read it before sending it to the thrift store.

Honestly, I was not expecting much from this book because of the title and my dislike of toilet humour.  However, I was pleasantly surprised and found a cute, funny, enjoyable story.  Besides the extensive use of the word ``fart`` there is nothing uncomfortable about the scenario presented.  This bodily function is treated as such and the humour comes from the situations created rather than resorting to the `toilet`` variety.  One feels a little sorry for the unfortunate Walter and is happy when his farts save the day.  Digital artwork is not my favourite but the bright, bold purple, pink, orange, green colour palette is stunning and captures the attention throughout.  A pleasant surprise for me!  I`d recommend to any parent who won`t mind repeating the word `fart`` throughout a readaloud.

*Glenn Murray is a Canadian author so I'm counting this book towards the Canadian Reading Challenge.

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