Running Wild (Upchuck and the Rotten Willy)

We have a 2-year old Rottie and my 8-year old son loves to read/hear stories about Rotts. When I saw the first Upchuck and the Rotten Willy book, I had to buy it. My son LOVED the stroy - so I searched to see if there were any more stories about that Rotten Willy...and I found them! These books are great and also have a great lesson at heart. We even shared them with the second grade class - my son's teacher read a chapter each day during read-aloud. The kids love it, and the silly antics of all the animals. Cannot say enough great things about this book and I'll definitely buy any future Upchuck and the Rotten WIlly books I can find!!!

Beautifully written. Heartwarming story of friendship - and funny to boot! I highly recommend this book to anyone with children! And to anyone WITHOUT children! Just the perfect escape from day to day life.

Reason for Reading: I read this aloud to ds. We wanted a short funny book for a change and have always had success with Bill Wallace (& his wife Carol).Upchuck and Rotten Willy is very similar to the "Gray Cat Trilogy" we read several years ago. Although this is the last book in the series it didn't make any difference to us, mentions were made of their previous adventures but enough information was given to newcomers about the characters. Chuck is a cat and Willy is a dog and they are best friends. Neither has any other mates in the neighbourhood. But this day two new cats move in and wander into Chuck's yard. They are a bit uppity but Chuck makes friends with them and spends a nice day with them. He learns quickly though that they are dog-haters and he agonises over what to do about Willy. Should he drop Willy as a friend, I mean cats should play with other cats, right? Or should he introduce his new friends to Willy and hope for the best that they might change their minds this one time, though it is hardly likely?Written in Chuck the cat's narrative we have a simple tale that honestly reflects dog and cat behaviour. Is quite funny. Sending us both into little giggle fits at times. The story is fun-filled with lots of action, with baseball being a minor theme and as always with Bill Wallace a short pleasure to read.

This is a good book if you in middle school and up. At the end of the book it'll leave you guessing what will happen next or will there be another book in the future to tell you what will happen.The book tries to teach you a lesson in life, that is why I said middle school and up, the lesson is about friendship and could change your friendship with a close friend forever.Willy also known as rotten Willy is a dog who loves baseball and happens to be friends with Chuck also know as Upchuck a cat who needed a friend cause all the other cats in the neiborhood moved away or got hit by a car.Somehow chuck gets hurt all the time and gets knocked out by playen hide-and-seek and hits his head or by some other odd reason, And Willy brings chuck's body to his water bowl and wakes chuck up by splashing him with water.Then out of nowhere a couple of cats move next door and scare chuck in his own yard, they meet for the first time and from there they become friends. But chuck finds out how they feel about dogs and cats who like dogs, but know chuck has to choose who he wants to be friends with, chuck talks to Willy about the deal and Willy wants chuck to be friends with both the cats and Willy. (Read the book to find out more)One day the phone rings and it is chucks human friend Katie talking to her parents about coming home from collage and bringing her fiancée and there coming home during the weekend and she shows up with a surprise.I'll leave it up to you to find out what happens ...

An impossible duo - that steals your heart! At it again - this pair can find trouble where none exists! Love this series, AND pray for more!