Michael Cart's TALKING ANIMALS Explores the Life of Freddy the Pig Creator Walter R. Brooks

Booklist offers a preview of Talking Animals and Others: The Life and Work of Walter R. Brooks, a new biography that will be of great interest to the fans of Freddy the Pig and anyone interested in the history of children's literature:"Cart, whose lifelong love of the Freddy the Pig books is well know in the children's book circles, has thoroughly researched the life of Walter R. Brooks, Freddy's creator, and chronicles it clearly and objectively. His solid knowledge of Brooks' writing is enhanced by his numerous interviews with people who knew Brooks well and by his thoughtful analysis of the man. Readers familiar with Brooks only as a writer of children's books may be surprised to learn that during the same years when Freddy's imaginative adventures were appearing (1927-58), Brooks was publishing witty, urbane short stories in magazines such as Esquire, Argosy, and Atlantic Monthly. Also, he created the talking-horse character later popularized by TV series Mister Ed. The book's black-and-white photos offer glimpses of Brooks and his world. Extensive commentary on the Freddy books, lengthy lists of Brooks' other stories and novels, and chapter-by-chapter source notes conclude this informative and thoroughly readable introduction to Brooks' life and works." –Carolyn Phelan