THE STINKY SNEAKERS CONTEST

Peters debuts with a ``Springboard Book'' about a contest that surely could never be—but that will certainly elicit gleeful giggles. The ``Feetfirst'' company is sponsoring the unlikely event (as described in the title) for ten-year-olds, with the magnificent prize of ten pairs of ``Jaguar Jetstreams'' over the next ten years. Earl, one of six children, knows that winning would help his family; besides, he'd love—just once—to come out ahead of friend Damian, whose dad out west keeps him well supplied with things like new bikes but whose methods of winning don't always seem fair. Sure enough, Damian buys a pair of ancient sneakers for the contest, then ``cheats'' by seasoning them with rank cheese; but when he and Earl tie at the finish, he cancels out what he admits was unfair play: he throws the contest by using a ``Smell Repel'' insert. It's all rather obviously contrived, but kids will love it; and, while Earl's motto— ``Cheaters never prosper''—is not really borne out by the events, the debate about it is intrinsic to the story. Smith's freely squiggled, cartoony b&w illustrations (in which most of the characters are African-Americans) extend the lively characterizations and the humor. (Fiction. 7-10)