Something Stinks! by Jonathan Fenske

Jonathan Fenske takes a break from his hilarious early readers to jump back into picture books with this mischievous (and smelly) story.

The skunk on the cover jumps right into reader’s faces on the first spread, addressing them directly, “Pee-yew! Something STINKS!” As the book continues, the skunk describes the smell, searches for the smell, produces items that might be the source of the smell, and finally appeals directly to the readers.

Just where IS that stink coming from?

Only when Skunk leaves the page, with a cloud of stink trailing behind them, does the smell mysteriously disappear…

Fenske’s clever cartoons focus on the silly expressions of the skunk, as they wrinkle up their nose, grimace, frown, and smile sweetly at the delicious (stink-free) smells of the reader. The simple text in a bold font will let this double as an early reader and the cartoons, set against a predominantly white background, keep the storyline easy to follow. However, this is most likely to appeal to storytime audiences, especially children old enough to catch the humor of the book and realize that, of course, it’s the skunk who is stinking all along!

Verdict: A quick and silly read, sure to be a big hit at your next skunk storytime. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781524793104; Published June 2021 by Penguin Workshop; Purchased for the library; Review copy provided by publisher