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Gran Leon Books - Walter the Farting Dog

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List Price: $15.95
Our Price: $10.85
Your Save: $ 5.10 ( 32% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Frog Children's Books
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Average Customer Rating:     

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Binding: Hardcover EAN: 9781583940532 ISBN: 1583940537 Label: Frog Children's Books Manufacturer: Frog Children's Books Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 32 Publication Date: 2001-10-10 Publisher: Frog Children's Books Reading Level: Ages 4-8 Release Date: 2001-11-01 Studio: Frog Children's Books
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Editorial Reviews:
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When Betty and Billy rescued Walter from the pound, they never imagined that such a cute dog was capable of such unpleasant and frequent smells -- Walter passes gas constantly! But just when the dog seems destined to be returned to the pound, a remarkable event turns him into a hero, and his new family learns to live with his smells.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:      Summary: It's a fun story for the kids. Comment: We bought the plush toy along with the book. as we read the book to the kids (age 4) they can see, and hear, Walter in action :)
they love it.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Walter is Great. Comment: Come on, my son's kindergarten teacher read it to them in class. It's a great story. Get over yourselves and read it for what it is. A dog who farts and has a family who loves him. Enough. We have all of the titles and I'll buy more. The boy likes to add his own farting noises when we read....via his mouth mind you....no one can fart that much on command, can they???? Wonderful book.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Walter the Farting Dog -- A Dog Trainer's Perspective Comment: I don't know how William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray learned of my dog George. Somehow, though, they must have heard the tale - like the fart heard round the world - and seen in his story the drama, the suspense to capture an audience and make their New York Times Bestseller dreams come true. They changed his name, of course, called him Walter the Farting Dog; but then that is common practice, "to protect the innocent" - I assume that means me. And they changed some of the facts of the case - again, common; a true story fictionalized to make it more difficult for casual acquaintances to put two-and-two together and identify my family as the agonists (not exactly ant- but certainly not pro-). But it's our story; really. And as Kotzwinkle and Murray benefit from its telling, here I sit, gas-mask mussing my hair, living the odorous reality of it all. It seems so unfair. Perhaps I should sue.
Chiefly I object to being portrayed as the kind of woman who would consider returning George because of his noxious smell. After all, my husband farts. In fact, he farts in bed. And not only does he fart in bed, he then proceeds to fluff the sheets to share his farts with me. It is egregious. It is gratuitous. It is, as he puts it, "The last bastion of manhood in a gelded world." (All right: I'm paraphrasing. The way he said it was ever-so-slightly more salty.) And I have never once (well, maybe once) threatened to send him back to his mother in England - so why would I return George?
Though, George does fart. Like Walter, he farts when he bathes and while playing. He farts as he walks around the house - in the dining room and kitchen. And he farts in bed. And while my husband, fair-minded man that he is, laughs and helps George to fluff the sheets (George having that no-opposable-thumb issue), I admit I am not so forgiving. "Outside," I'll say, and then, "Bedtime," as I hold the kennel door open and my nose closed and usher George into his own little bed for the rest of the night. Sometimes, then, I'll lie in the darkened room down the hall and wonder if the kennel has yet swollen to ten-times its normal size as George's hot-air inflates it like a balloon. The next morning it is always in its place, though. Flights of farts and fancy aside, George remains at home where he belongs. I open the kennel door, and with a fart and a stretch, George begins his day. I accept this. I would not give George up.
Aside from this one small error, however, Kotzwinkle and Murray got the story straight. We have consulted our veterinarian (who apparently is in the authors' employ), and we have tried various foods (though not lettuce and tomato sandwiches - everyone knows that George doesn't care for green food). Poor George does indeed get the blame for any and all suspicious smells, including those emanating from backsides decidedly less doggish (you know who you are, "Uncle Irv"). And while he has never in fact scared away nighttime marauders, guests who have over-stayed their welcome have occasionally been handed rather smelly, though figurative, hats as George has shown them the door. So you see: our story; not Kotzwinkle's and Murray's.
Yet, I suppose the story is theirs now, in a way; and because they have told it, it's become your story, too. For Kotzwinkle and Murray, from their objective (and odor-free) distance, have distilled our malodorous little family saga to its universal essence; have made it a story of compassion, a story of acceptance, and, ultimately, a story of redemption. And so, you see, I cannot bring myself to pursue legal recourse. In a way, I'm proud that our smelly laundry has been so publicly aired. If it can but help one family, one other Walter, or George (or 30-something English computer programmer) retain his happy home, it will have been worth the sacrifice. No other compensation is necessary. (But honestly, Kotzwinkle and Murray: now that you've sold a million copies, couldn't you at least spring for one bottle of Febreeze?)
Customer Rating:      Summary: Appropriate or Inappropriate? Comment: This book can be very funny at times, but I believe that the illustrations can be very scary for young ones to look at.Yes, there are better books out there, but this book gives some kids a good laugh, but while reading this book to our kids, we should teach them that farting is inappropriate in public.
Customer Rating:      Summary: STOLEN STORY !! Comment: I came across a book called "Dog Breath" by Dav Pilkey. It's the SAME EXACT story as "Walter" but the dog has bad breath. This dog also fends off burglars and is saved from being given away. I was horrified. This book was published in 1994. Walter in 2001. Way to steal someone else's story for your own profit!!!
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