In children's publishing, the smell of success has a rather offensive odour these days.
From the Captain Underpants series to Walter The Farting Dog, tales of breaking wind are turning slews of children onto what is being described as "poop fiction." Walter's latest adventure, Trouble At The Yard Sale, co-written by Canadian Glenn Murray, was Number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list last week. There's even a scratch-and-whiff book planned.
—"Chatter," The Toronto Star, May 2, 2004
[Glenn] Murray, an educator-turned-children's author from Canada, is still getting used to the ruckus over two books he co-wrote. They feature "Walter the Farting Dog," a flatulent pooch whose little problem saves the day time and time again.
The content might seem quirky and even off-color to some. But these days, potty humor is big in the world of popular children's literature - from the "Captain Underpants" series to such best-selling titles as "Zombie Butts from Uranus!"
Parents jokingly call the genre the kid's version of pulp fiction — or "poop fiction."
—Martha Irvine, "Farts, underpants and 'Zombie Butts' — authors using irreverent humor to get kids reading," The Associated Press, April 29, 2004
