[ Rough Weather Ahead for Walter the Farting Dog (Walter the Farting Dog) ] By Kotzwinkle, William ( Author ) [ 2005 ) [ Hardcover ]

Walter makes his third appearance in yet another unapologetically silly picture book, this one dedicated to “everyone who’s ever felt misjudged or misunderstood.” The story begins when animal gas expert Professor Kompressor pays a visit to Walter’s family, equipped with a contraption that looks like a cross between a vacuum cleaner and an old phonograph: “I understand your dog has a farting disorder,” he says. At first it seems as if the professor’s prescription of powders and potions is working, but one day, young Billy and Betty see Walter floating like a helium balloon over the trees, so full of pent-up gas he has become airborne. Unable to release his gas, the unfortunate dog floats over hill and dale for days and days. The formula for these books requires the much-maligned Walter to redeem his gaseous self by saving the day (he gasses out burglars in the first one and helps catch bank robbers in the second). Here, even more absurdly, he saves millions of butterflies from a freezing windstorm by letting rip a warm cloud of air that melts the frost off their wings. Colorful, crisp, almost three-dimensional art, generated with a digital painting and collage technique, gives the book a bizarre, sophisticated style that both complements and elevates the cheap laughs. (Ages 6 to 9) –Karin Snelson