Walter the Farting Dog

Authors: William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray
Illustrator: Audrey Coleman

Riding the wave of books that revel in and attempt to demystify bodily functions (see Everyone Poops and Gee Whiz! It's All About Pee), Walter does break new ground as the first picture book to include the phrase "rectal flatulence". The success of this book capitalizes on the unfortunate fact that, like it or not, no one can resist a halfway decent fart joke. Featuring strange early-MTV Video inspired illustrations, Walter is gross but touching. (not gross butt touching, which doesn't appear until the sequel: Thomas the Inappropriately Itchy Cat.)