Talk:Freddy the Pig

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Fictional characters

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The description of Freddy is very similar to his description on the back cover of the books published by Overlook Press. ςפקιДИτς 01:59, 26 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Photos[edit]

Can someone put some photos up? Arthritix (talk) 00:00, 9 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Location of Bean farm[edit]

I added a section on the Bean farm location. It's likely to be helpful to readers unfamiliar with the area to recognize that Brooks isn't entirely fictionalizing the landscape. There is other evidence, but rather than get involved in original research, I stuck with basics about the existence or non-existence of towns mentioned, and the direction to them. The Bean farm is within 30 miles southwest of Syracuse, or alternatively not just east -- using less concrete evidence -- but southeast about the same distance. (On Cheers, Alpha Ralpha Boulevard (talk) 22:47, 12 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

That is original research.

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction says simply, "The basic setting is the Bean Farm in upstate New York, probably close to Syracuse." [1] --now [ref name=SFE], used on another point and more generally useful. --P64 (talk) 17:39, 29 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Suggestion to rewrite[edit]

I've now spent some days of quality time creating articles for individual books. I'd appreciate feedback, particularly because I'm at the point now where I'd also like to rewrite the main article. It isn't so much that the language tends toward the lyrical rather than the formal (which it does), but rather that it misrepresents the series. It didn't (before I started making incremental changes) seem to be largely written by editors who know the whole series.

Examples of problematic phrases are "plaintive requests from Freddy fans", "highly developed life", "though only momentarily", and "Much of the humor in the books derives from the self-referential way in which the author acknowledges the unreality of talking animals".

Although the Freddy books were republished by Overlook Press on the chance request of a fan to the publisher, Freddy books have never been out of the eye of librarians. They sell now better than ever. It's incorrect to see Freddy's publication as a grass roots movement. The notion that much humor is "self-referential" is (perhaps unavoidably, because there's so little scholarship) original research. In many cases the Bean animals are simply people with cosmetic animal attributes. (I.e., they reason, argue and joke as humans would.) That they are not capable of driving a car or wearing human clothes convincingly are less central. One of the intriguing things for young readers must be that, because the animal have no school and no regular jobs, the characters have no specially fixed age. (Is Freddy 10 or 25? Is Old Whibley 18 or 70?)

A rewrite needs to summarize the whole series. The main roles need to be succinctly described, and the minor ones largely omitted. (Placed in an article listing characters.)

Many librarians were quite hostile to the informal and slang language. (Similar to what the Oz books experienced.) Yet some reviewers praise the accuracy of Brooks' local dialect. There must be something more to say about this.

Wiese was a highly accomplished and award-winning author and artist. Why did he continue to illustrate Freddy books after becoming famous?

What is frustratingly missing and difficult to research is comments by Brooks and Wiese on their own process.

Thoughts, anyone, please? Alpha Ralpha Boulevard (talk) 07:53, 15 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

My use of "self-referential" admittedly may have been a bit pretentious, but my point was that the characters are not just people who look like animals, but are actual talking animals coexisting with people, in the same way Mister Ed is. Perhaps the statement should be toned down, but I don't think it amounts to research. Richard K. Carson (talk) 21:23, 18 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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Including link to the Friends of Freddy?[edit]

Does including a link to the literary group associated with these books violate WP:ELNO? After the link I added was removed, I checked similar Wikipedia pages: Thornton Burgess has a link to the Thornton W. Burgess Society. Sherlock Holmes has a link to the Sherlock Holmes Society of London. L. Frank Baum has a link to the International Wizard of Oz Club. The Adventures of Tintin has a link to the Tintin fan site. Betsy-Tacy has links to both the Betsy-Tacy Society and the Maud Hart Lovelace Society. What is the proper standard here? Kevinwparker (talk) 01:41, 17 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

About the Third Opinion request: The Third Opinion requested for this dispute has been removed (i.e. declined). Like all other moderated content dispute resolution venues at Wikipedia, Third Opinion requires thorough talk page discussion before seeking assistance. If an editor will not discuss, consider the recommendations which are made here. — TransporterMan (TALK) 02:46, 18 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

My fellow editor rightfully notes that this link needs to qualify under WP:ELNO point 11 while (erroneously in my opinion) claiming it does not. I would like to make two points here. First, this isn't just a fansite ("a website created and maintained by a fan"), this is the official website of the Friends of Freddy, an incorporated nonprofit and the only organization devoted to the Freddy the Pig series. Second, an exemption is specifically noted for sites "written by a recognized authority." A significant part of the website content (an overview of the Freddy books, a biography of Walter R. Brooks, and a biography of illustrator Kurt Wiese) is written by newsletter editor and governing member Michael Cart, a leading authority on children's literature and - as Walter R. Brooks' biographer - the leading authority on the Freddy the Pig books. I believe this more than qualifies us as an appropriate external link. Kevinwparker (talk) 16:52, 18 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for explaining your reasoning. I agree that Cart should be considered a recognized authority in this case, so WP:ELNO does not apply. World's Lamest Critic (talk) 18:09, 18 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]