Our Trip to the Library - a Solid 5 Farts Experience!

I don't have any funny stories to share today, so I thought I would ramble on about our trip to the library. No mention of body parts in this posting, I promise.

Today the kids and I visited the library near our apartment. This was our first visit to this building. Apparently this branch services more children than our old library, so they were especially kid friendly. In addition to an overwhelming amount of kids' books, there was a space in the back the kids thought looked like a castle. It was formed with actual bricks and made a circle around the back of the building. Inside the circle were various murals and sculptures depicting various literary scenes. There were benches along the inside rim of the circle, and bean bag chairs tossed in the middle. There was also an easel holding a flannel board, complete with a variety of felt characters and shapes, just waiting for a preschooler's imagination to bring them to life. In another corner was a stack of puppets and stuffed animals. This was a cool library!

The kids, who love going to the library anyway, were just thrilled. Tyler hurriedly filled a basket full of books and retreated into the castle to find a bench. Each time I looked in at him, he had his head bent over a book, studying each picture and occasionally talking to himself. Danielle picked out a few books and chose to sit at a table within eyesight of me. I tried to scour the shelves to find some quality books to take home. Every once in awhile Tyler would scurry out, replace his books in the correct bins (the picture books were kept in bins sorted alphabetically), and refill his basket. It was a good experience.

A lot of times I research good books for the kids on the internet and then reserve them through our library's website. The librarians pull the books and then I receive an email when they're ready to be picked up. If I'm looking for something specific, this is such an easy way to get it. Anyway, a couple months ago I stumbled onto a couple winners (thanks to some amazon.com reviews): Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, by Judi & Ron Barrett and Walter the Farting Dog, by William Kotzwinkle & Glenn Murray. (Given my recent posts full of potty humor, I'm sure you can see why the latter book would be such a hit.) I think I have renewed them 3 times now. Well, I discovered the other day that there are actually sequels to the Farting Dog books! (Also to the Meatballs book, but it wasn't as good as the original.) So, I reserved them, and we picked those up today, too.

They were just as popular as the first! Tyler's favorite, though, is the second book, entitled Walter the Farting Dog; Trouble at the Yard Sale. The father sold Walter to a strange man while the kids were out getting ice cream. The strange man hooked Walter up to one end of a fart-catching machine. He hooked balloons up to the other end of the machine. And then, you guessed it - the farts inflated the balloons. The man dressed up like a clown, took the balloons to a bank, popped them, and used the gas to impair everyone while he robbed the bank (immune to the smell by his big red nose). In the end, the clown was adjusting a balloon at the end of the fart-catcher when some fart gas escaped. His cigar ignited the gas and the fart-catcher exploded. The dog was freed and the clown was trapped in the tv. Walter escaped, brought the police, was reunited with his family, and received an award from the mayor for his heroic farting. While Tyler finds the books amusing, he really thinks about the stories, too. This ultimately leads to a barrage of questions and statements. "How does his nose keep him safe?" "Why would he do that?" "Oh! That looks bad!" "How did it explode?" "I thought smoking was bad." "How did it explode?!" I had to go over the gas explosion one step at a time, explaining how fart gas could catch on fire by a lit cigar. (I sure hope this isn't one experiment he wants to try out for himself.) Surprisingly, books about farting dogs are great for creating discussion and stimulating the imagination.

So, in case you're into potty humor and looking for a good read, the Robbins' Book Club gives the Walter the Farting Dog series (and our local public library) a solid 5 farts!