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THE MUSEUM OF VERY BAD SMELLS by Monica Arnaldo

THE MUSEUM OF VERY BAD SMELLS

A Dare To Scratch 'n' Sniff Mystery

by Monica Arnaldo ; illustrated by Monica Arnaldo

Pub Date: July 16th, 2024
ISBN: 9780063271449
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins

Who stole the World Famous Rotten Egg? Something about this theft smells fishy (not to mention stinky, icky, and gross!).

Disaster strikes on opening day of the Museum of Very Bad Smells. Who took the museum’s most anticipated exhibit? Was it Herman, the pickled herring, or Pickles, the wet dog? Was it Beetle, the dung artist, or TJ, the mouse with a foul past? Or was it you? One of the museum’s workers, an adorable, uniform-clad hamster, leads the other characters—and readers—on a zany chase through the super-smelly exhibits to sniff out the culprit. Along the way, they encounter disgusting smells sure to have kids dissolving into fits of giggles, from farts to barf to old sneakers to stinky cheese. Readers will be even more delighted to experience some of these odors for themselves, as several pages feature scratch ’n’ sniff patches. With cartoon flair, the story is told entirely through speech bubbles and energetic visuals. Watching the characters zip around the museum keeps the action speeding forward and heightens the suspense. Our hamster hero intermittently breaks the fourth wall to invite readers to help solve the mystery. This tale is engaging, fast-paced, and full of nonstop potty humor—even reluctant readers will find it hard to resist.

Kids with a taste for gross-out humor will laugh themselves sick. A real stinker, in the best possible sense.

(Picture book. 3-8)