Upchuck and the Rotten Willy

Series · 3 books · 1998-2000

By Bill Wallace

Books in series

Upchuck and the Rotten Willy

1998

Chuck’s a cat with a great life—until Katie goes away to college and his best friend moves. Left all alone, Chuck starts to venture farther and farther into the neighborhood and one fateful night finds himself face-to-face with a beast as big and black as death. His name is Rotten Willy—and he’s a dog with a heart of gold.

The Great Escape

1998

Spring has sprung—and so have we...even cats and dogs get crazy in the spring. After all, what self-respecting cat (that’s me, Chuck) stays somewhere he doesn’t want to be? And what self-respecting dog (that’s Rotten Willy, who calls me Upchuck) won’t let his best friend (me) goad him into action on a fine spring day? Believe me, it’s not easy getting a lumpy Rottweiler over—or under—a big wooden gate! I figured it was about time I took Willy to my pal Luigi’s restaurant for a great spaghetti and meatball dinner. Problem was, Luigi didn’t understand that some dogs and cats, particularly an exceptional feline like me, can be friends. He was only trying to protect me when he went after Willy with a skillet! Boy, did he run. Then Willy decided to teach me how to chase cows. ME chase cows? Me-ow! I tried to introduce him to something more civilized, like chasing mice, but no go. Then came the skunk. Need I say more? But the real obstacle to a long-lasting friendship was yet to come.

Running Wild

2000

Chuck finds himself torn between his best friend, Willy the Rottweiler, and his two new companions, Roscoe and his sister Rikki, two cats who think that dogs are awful.

Author

Bill Wallace

Author · 32 books

Bill Wallace was an American teacher and later an author of children's books. He started writing to quiet down his fourth grade students, who loved his stories and encouraged him to make “real” books. Bill Wallace grew up in Oklahoma. Along with riding their horses, he and his friends enjoyed campouts and fishing trips. Toasting marshmallows, telling ghost stories to scare one another, and catching fish was always fun. Bill Wallace has won numerous children's state awards and been awarded the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award for Children's Literature from the Oklahoma Center for the Book. Bill Wallace died from Lung cancer on January 30, 2012. Former elementary school teacher; West Elementary School, Chickasha, OK, principal, since 1977, and physical education teacher. Speaker at schools and universities in various states, including State University of New York and University of South Florida. AWARDS: Bluebonnet Award from Texas Association of School Librarians and Children's Round Table and Sequoyah Children's Book Award from Oklahoma State Department of Education, both 1983, Central Missouri State University Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 1984, and Nebraska Golden Sowers Award from Nebraska Library Association, 1985, all for A Dog Called Kitty; Central Missouri State University Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 1984, and Pine Tree Book Award, 1985, both for Trapped in Death Cave.