Farley Follows His Nose

March 23, 2009
The affable, always-up-for-a-meal sheepdog from Johnston’s long-running comic strip “For Better or for Worse” takes a star turn. Smelling hot dogs grilling at a nearby house, Farley bolts from home without his collar. More smells—nicely conveyed through a rush of words in wavy typography (“pineneedleswetdirttomatoesmint and... toasted marshmallows
!”)—beckon him further afield, although Johnston and Cruikshank (who is also a vet) are careful to portray the wider world as benevolent and responsible (teenagers refuse to give Farley their marshmallows because “Dogs’ stomachs aren’t made for such sweet stuff”). Dog lovers of all ages will appreciate how the authors resist overanthropomorphizing their hero: when Farley reunites a lost boy with his family, it’s because the dog smells hot dogs, lemon cake, apple juice and popcorn on him and figures there’s more of the same at the boy’s house. The warmhearted comic energy and Johnston’s genial, knowing cartooning make the pages fly by; readers are sure to root for Farley getting his own series—or better yet, his own animated cartoon. Ages 4–8.