Side-splittingly smelly.
A skunk tries to track down the source of a foul odor.
“Pee-yew!” says Skunk, nose pinched, jaw clenched, and eyes squinting against the “something [that] STINKS” in the air. Breaking the fourth wall, Skunk asks readers directly if they can smell it, too, then tells them they “sure are LUCKY” not to be able to smell it. In answer to a rhetorical “How stinky is it?” Skunk—with the help of a stink-loving fly—makes comparisons to other smells: rotten sandwiches, moldy cheese, and even “sweaty, dirty, crusty socks.” This “terrible stench” is the smelliest of all, but Skunk assures readers that their “good friend Skunk” will get to the bottom of things. But as the skunk looks “in every corner” and “crack” (pulling a pair of tighty whities from the gutter), the smell gets “WORSE.” What—or who—could possibly be the culprit? (Hint: It wasn’t the undies.) Fenske’s boldly outlined cartoon characters pop off the page, especially when he expertly plays with depth of field to break the fourth wall. The simple white backgrounds help draw attention to the amorphous, brown cloud of stink that lingers on just about every page. That the cloud remains invisible to Skunk will make readers feel like they’re in on the joke (along with the deadpan fly). Though Skunk’s investigation lacks resolution from their perspective, the slightest hint of Skunk’s butt cheekily confirms readers’ suspicions. This metafictive title engages multiple senses and is comedy gold. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Side-splittingly smelly. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9310-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
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