FARLEY FARTS

Hard on the heels of Lisa Kopelke’s Excuse Me! (2003) comes another tale of a frog with chronic digestive difficulties. Farley’s little sister may find his affliction amusing, but his worried parents first haul him off to a doctor, who assures them that “it will pass” (well, yes), then enjoin him just to try holding it in. As if. But Farley does so, which causes him to swell up like a balloon and float away. With but occasional exceptions, Farley and the pop-eyed froggy figures around him wear fixed smiles that seem to contradict the anxiety and embarrassment expressed in the text. Furthermore, his angst comes to an unlikely end after a single stentorian blast returns him to earth, and Mom makes bean soup for the whole family so that he won’t feel so singled out. Since Farley’s distress is treated in a jokey way, he’s more likely to get smirks than sympathy from readers; wave this off in favor of Shinta Cho’s informative, amusing The Gas We Pass (1994). (Picture book. 6-8)