Review: Walter the Farting Dog: Banned from the Beach

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walter the farting dog coverTitle: Walter the Farting Dog: Banned from the Beach
Author/Illustrator: William Katzwinkle, Glenn Murray, Elizabeth Gundy and Audrey Coleman
Publisher: Puffin, $10
Publication Date: 2009 (reprint)
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0142413944
For ages: 6+
Type: Picture Book

 “For everyone who’s ever felt misjudged or misunderstood…”

Walter is a friendly dog with a serious problem with farting. His farts are so powerful that it can blow Mr. and Mrs. Crabbe’s shading umbrella into the sea. It even blew the meringue off of Mr. Crabbe’s pie! Walter can’t help but fart. He farts when he’s happy. He farts when he’s nervous. He even farts when he’s scared. When the beach warden hears about Walter’s farting, he bans him from the beach. When the chief of police hears complaints about Walter’s farting, he is banned from the village. All Walter can do is stay at home and rummage through the garbage for fruit while Betty and Billy enjoy digging for treasure in the sand. But, when the tide comes in and leaves Betty and Billy stranded, it is Walter’s tropical fruit fart that parts the sea and saves the day.

I don’t know why little boys like reading about poop and farts, but this book is a hit. Hidden within the humorous nature is a serious undertone of fitting in. Walter is prohibited from public places because he is different. This story is recommended for ages six years and older and perfect for a class visit to the library. The pictures in the book, however, are very busy, detailed, and filled with colour. Reluctant readers will enjoy reading this story. Laughing is permitted – even for the librarian.

Complete list of Picture Book Reviews

Minute to Win It

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Minute to Win it is a popular program at my library. The kids really enjoy playing.  My budget for this program was $0.00 – so I had to recycle, reduce, and reuse for this program.

Rules

Each contestant must complete each challenge in one minute or less. If you complete the challenge, you get one point. Player with the best time (or the most complete) gets two points.

The Challenges

Tweeze Me: Using tweezers to relocate as many beans from one bowl to another.

Go Fishing: Using a paper plate, you have one minute to fan a tissue paper fish to the other side of the room.

Separation Anxiety: Sort the gumballs in to the appropriate cups using only one hand.

String it Together:  Using a pool noodle, slice into 20 smaller pieces. Number each piece. Contestants must string together the noodles in order from 1 to 20.

Ping Pong Ball Shake:  Tie an empty Kleenex box around your waist and fill your truck with five balls. Wiggle until the box is empty.

How it Went

The kids had no problem completing each challenge. I had 6 children participate. It was an hour long program, but we finished up at about 50 minutes. Usually, I would do a second round – but we were on a time crunch and the kids wanted their prizes. I don’t like giving out candy to children, but I gave them each two leftover gumballs  for participating. The winner got to pick out a discarded book.

I asked the children what challenge was the hardest, they said “String it Together.” Next time, I will probably eliminate the numbers on the pool noodles and let them string 20 in the fastest time.

Happy Birthday Remington Park

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June 8th was a special day for the children and adults of Remington Park. Our tiny, tiny library (2000 square feet) turned 30 years!  So, of course, we through a GIGANTIC birthday bash that had all the neighbourhood kids ecstatic!

Tiny Budget, Big Ideas

Question: How could we make this event special and spectacular?
Answer: DIY Crafts and lots and lots of bargain shopping!

We enlisted the help of The Stilt Guys to come out and do an event for the kids outside. We prayed for no rain and the book gods were very good to us. About 30 children (I lost count) attended a “Clown University” session outdoors. The kids pretended to be on a gigantic trampoline, learned how to fall safely, used their clown noses to sniff, and learned to walk on stilts.

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We knew that the majority of the party attendees would be children. Kid friendly food was necessary – so we got pizza, cheese and crackers, and fruit. And two cakes. And let me tell you, the children devoured them.

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We wanted to give away a memento – but with our small budget – I decided to make bookmarks. These were fairly cost effective – all we needed was some card stock from our craft cupboard and a photocopier.

Needless to say, the event was a huge hit. I went to bed at 8 PM that night.