Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walter the Farting Dog: A Triumphant Toot and Timeless Tale That’s Touched Hearts for Decades–A laugh- out-loud funny picture book | 2001 | William Kotzwinkle | N/A |
| 2 | Trouble at the Yard Sale / Walter the Farting Dog Farts Again / Trouble at the Garage Sale | 2004 | William Kotzwinkle | Buy |
| 3 | Walter the Farting Dog: Trouble at the Yard Sale | 2004 | William Kotzwinkle | N/A |
| 4 | Rough Weather Ahead for Walter the Farting Dog / Walter the Farting Dog and the Windy Day | 2005 | William Kotzwinkle | Buy |
| 5 | Walter the Farting Dog Goes on a Cruise | 2006 | William Kotzwinkle | Buy |
| 6 | Walter the Farting Dog | 2001 | William Kotzwinkle | Buy |
| 7 | Banned From the Beach | 2007 | William Kotzwinkle | Buy |
Walter the Farting Dog began with a real animal and a frankly unpromising premise, and became one of the most successful American children’s picture book series of the 2000s. The first book appeared in 2001 and by 2011 had sold over 1.4 million hardcover copies, with the full series passing two million. The straightforward joke at the heart of it, a dog whose flatulence is both embarrassing and occasionally useful, turns out to have real staying power with young readers.
The books are co-written with Glenn Murray and illustrated by Audrey Colman, whose artwork gives Walter a genuinely sympathetic look that makes him easy to root for. Each book puts Walter in a new situation, whether a yard sale, a cruise, or a day at the beach, where his condition creates the expected chaos but also saves the day in some fashion. It is a reliable comic structure, and the books execute it with enough energy and warmth to justify the formula being repeated across seven volumes.
For parents who grew up with these books in the early 2000s, they have a nostalgic charm; for children encountering them now, Walter remains funny in the most uncomplicated way. The series is a good example of a children’s book that works because it trusts kids to enjoy something silly without needing it dressed up as something else.