Walter R. Brooks Books In Order

Publication Order of Freddy the Pig Books

Publication Order of Picture Books

Walter R. Brooks was a renowned writer from American, who was popular for writing children’s novels, short stories, and adventure stories. He is best remembered for the short stories featuring a talking horse named Mister Ed and the children’s novels featuring Freddy the Pig. In addition to these popular characters, Walter had created a few more anthropomorphic animal characters that were inhabitants of the Bean Farms located in upstate New York. Author Walter was born as Walter Rolin Brooks on January 09, 1886, in Rome, New York, United States. His death occurred on August 17, 1958, in Roxbury, New York, US. Walter had joined the college at Rochester University. He also undertook a course in homeopathic medicine in NYC, but ended up dropping out after 2 years. Subsequently, Walter came back to Rochester, where he came across Anne Shepard and took her as his first wife in 1909. Shortly after, he got a job in Utica in an advertising agency. He retired in 1911 after inheriting a considerable amount of wealth.

Walter did not remain retired for long and started working for the ‘American Red Cross’ in 1917. Later, he worked for a few literary magazines and carried out editorial work. In 1932-33, Walter worked for a non-fiction stint for The New Yorker. From 1940 onwards, he began writing independently, writing his own stories on a full-time basis. In 1952, Anne Shepard breathed her last, after which Walter met and married Dorothy Collins. The initial works that Walter came up with were mostly short stories and poems. Starting from 1937, he began a series of short stories featuring Mister Ed as a talking horse with its drunken owner. This short story series served as a basis for a TV comedy series in the 1960s called Mister Ed. In each of the episodes of the TV series, Walter is given the credit for the creation of characters. The life of Walter came to an end before the production of the TV series began. Following his death, it is not known whether Walter’s estate demanded royalties from the production company.

Tough the Mister Ed stories are very popular, author Walter’s most enduring works are considered to be the 26 novels that he wrote based on Freddy the Pig. All the 26 books are very highly praised for their witty stories, sound & structural plotting, admirable prose, humor, and genuine characters. In 2009, a biography based on Walter’s life and work was written by Michael Cart and published by the Overlook Press. Author Walter introduced the character of Mister Ed for the first time in the 1937 book called The Talking Horse. The last book to feature this character was ‘With Teeth & Tail’, that was published in 1945. Arthur Lubin had used the 1944 short story ‘Ed Signs the Pledge’ to sell the idea of a TV series based on Mister Ed to the TV executives. The Filmways production company agreed to produce the series that was initially syndicated. In 1961, CBS picked it up and ran it until 1966. The actors that played the lead roles in the TV series included Allan Lane, Alan Young, Connie Hines, Bamboo Harvester, etc. Celebrities like Clint Eastwood, George Burns, Sebastian Cabot, etc., have made guest appearances in several episodes.

The Freddy the Pig series written by author Walter R. Brooks is comprised of a total of 26 books released between 1927 and 1958. Out of the 26 books, 25 are novels and 1 is a poetry collection, all of which have Kurt Wiese’s illustrations. Initially, Freddy is introduced as the cleverest and smallest pig of all on Bean Farm. Beginning as just a simple pig, he goes on to become the central character. The interests of Freddy drive the stories as he takes up roles as a politician, magician, detective, newspaper editor, pilot, etc. All the novels feature a recurring antagonist in the form of the dignified and slimy Simon, who is the leader of a criminal rat gang. Besides the animal characters, the human characters mentioned by Walter include Mr. & Mrs. Bean, owners of the Bean Farm, the inhabitants of Centerboro, and some human villains. Most of the humor in the novels is derived self-referentially, in which Walter has acknowledged talking animals’ unreality, unlike being treated as normal in other children’s books. With the progress of the series, Freddy and other animals gain national fame because of their ability to read and talk. The human characters become shocked at first, but later become used to indulging in conversations with animals.

The debut book of the series is entitled ‘Freddy Goes to Florida’. It was released in 1927 and was initially called To and Again. This book revolves around the adventure of the Bean Farm animals as they travel to Florida and return. The book opens by introducing Freddy as an intelligent pig. Because of the cold winter, the animals decide to go on a vacation to Florida. Every animal joins the journey, including the rooster Charles, who is initially prevented to join by his wife Henrietta. During their trip, the animals come across a man, who intends to capture them with the assistance of his son. But, they manage to scare them off and continue their journey. As they arrive in Washington, DC, they are received by 3 senators who give them a tour of the entire city. As they proceed with the trip, they learn about hidden gold and discover it, but decide not to take it with them. The moment they arrive in Florida, they get trapped in a swamp surrounded by alligators. Somehow, they manage to escape and go to encounter various other adverse situations. They overcome kidnappers and other culprits on their way back to Bean Farm. The animals bring along the gold they discovered in the path and offer it to the owners.

The second installment of this series is called ‘Freddy Goes to the North Pole’. It was first published as More To and Again in 1930. This book’s story deals with the attempt of the Bean Farm animals in rescuing some of the animals who had previously gone to the North Pole for an expedition. The story starts by showing that Freddy puts forward the idea of starting a tourism company. The other animals agree with his idea and they eventually form a company called Barnyard Tours. For going on any tour, the animals are given the option of paying with food or by working for Mr. Bean. But after some time, Jinx and Freddy get fed up of conducting tours. On Freddy’s suggestion, some animals join him to go to the North Pole. When they do not return even after one year is passed, the remaining animals begin to worry. They decide to form a rescue team and go to find them. A crow named Ferdinand informs the rescue party that Freddy is about to get eaten by a ship’s crew. The animals arrive in time and rescue him and other animals stuck with him.