Farley Follows His Nose by Lynn Johnston
Posted by: Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan
Lynn: Farley hates baths and when he emerges dripping wet from the tub on the first page of this beguiling book, he smells something that eases his misery – the glorious odor of HOT DOGS. Off he gallops without his collar leaving Elly in the dust. Farley Follows his Nose (HarperCollins, 2009) from one nasal delight to another complete with a hilarious series of snuffahs whuffles, sneerfas and snorts. Johnston’s illustrations will make the grumpiest among us smile as goofy Farley gambols though the pages. Readers who love For Better or Worse, the long running comic strip, will delight in seeing Farley star in his own book. Kids may not know the strip but they won’t care – Farley’s tale is a sheer delight. Here’s hoping Farley returns for more canine adventures.
Cindy: I’m not a fan of celebrity picture books, but when the celebrity is Lynn Johnston, sign me up! Johnston is a cartoonist, but one who has been telling stories in her strip for decades and she spins a fun tale here with engaging illustrations of Farley’s smelly adventure. The large page spreads must be a treat for an artist who has been confined to ever shrinking panels on the pages of newspapers and will certainly aid younger readers in their enjoyment of her comic scenes. Now, if we could only get Bill Watterson to create a Calvin & Hobbes picture book…think of the fun he could have!
June 4th, 2009 at 7:40 am
So glad you liked this book! Lynn is reading from it at the writers’ festival I volunteer for this September. It was my first year helping to choose the picture books, and besides Lynn having a really big name in Canada, I thought the book was charming.