Nasty, Stinky Sneakers: A Hilariously Fun Mystery About Competition, Friendship, and Missing Sneakers for Kids

by Eve Bunting

Award-winning author Eve Bunting’s hilariously fun story about the world’s stinkiest sneakers is one kids are sure to love! The competition, friendship, and rivalry make this book a laugh-out-loud story that is perfect for grade school children. Colin has spent weeks perfecting his sneaker odor for the Stinkiest Sneakers in the World contest. If he wins, he'll get three brand-new pairs of Slam Dunkers sneakers: one for himself, one for his little sister, Amy, and one for his best pal, Webster.
But now, after weeks of working toward stinky perfection—not washing his feet, wearing no socks, jogging to get his feet juicy, and even sleeping with his sneakers on—the nasty, stinky sneakers are missing!

Genres: Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Juvenile, Humor, Middle Grade

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Also known as Evelyn Bolton and A.E. Bunting.

Anne Evelyn Bunting, better known as Eve Bunting, is an author with more than 250 books. Her books are diverse in age groups, from picture books to chapter books, and topic, ranging from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. Eve Bunting has won several awards for her works.

Bunting went to school in Ireland and grew up with storytelling. In Ireland, “There used to be Shanachies… the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. Maybe I’m a bit of a Shanchie myself, telling stories to anyone who will listen.” This storytelling began as an inspiration for Bunting and continues with her work.

In 1958, Bunting moved to the United States with her husband and three children. A few years later, Bunting enrolled in a community college writing course. She felt the desire to write about her heritage. Bunting has taught writing classes at UCLA. She now lives in Pasadena, California.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grabbed my branch's discarded copy for sentimental reasons. This book produced the best ever book hook speech I ever gave to a group of kids. I had been invited to talk to a number of classes in a local elementary school and I started it by asking how many kids were wearing sneakers. Of course pretty much everyone was. Then I kept asking for who was wearing dirty sneakers? Who was wearing really dirty sneakers? Who was wearing filthy sneakers? Finally of course, who was wearing nasty stinky sneakers? The kids absolutely loved this (I was careful not to check out the teacher's expression) and I then told them about this book. Best book talk ever!

However, on rereading the book, it is an ok book but rather limps in many ways. Number one, the "mystery" got solved by a neighbor leaving a note that she had noticed the sneakers and (SHOCK!) cleaned them up out of gratitude for past kind attentions from the hapless hero of the story. The two boys earlier do a questionable act...stealing a competitor's sneakers, convinced he had to be the criminal. Then of course they had to return the sneakers to their mean cheating competitor. In conclusion, the book is cute, has good memories for me, but is getting donated because I doubt I'll ever read it again. Still worth recommending to library patrons. Feel free to use my book talk if you wish!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, timeless, relatable. A fun little free library surprise!

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is about icky sneakers, thievery, threats, and a preteen crush from an age where parents let their kids out of their sight to play in garbage. If you're into olfactory stimulation and you're a kid then this is the book for you.

If you're still into this sort of thing as an adult, check out Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders.

[Katie Taisey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nasty, Stinky sneakers is an interesting book but just not for me. I thought it was kinda gross that Colin wore his shoes all the time and I feel like some students would be inclined to follow in his foot steps. I thought it was sweet how his aunt wanted to wash his shoes because they were not well off enough to buy new shoes but Colin was sort of ungrateful when his aunt was just trying to be nice.

[Toni Wyatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about a stinky sneaker contest. Colin has been cultivating some super stinky sneakers to win a contest that will get him, his friend Webster, and his sister, Amy, new sneakers. When the school bully enters the contest, Colin’s shoes disappear. It’s a classic farce about jumping to conclusions, but also playing fair.

[Rene Aube · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book my boys would have loved when they were youngsters! A contest to see who has the stinkiest sneakers? And quite an adventure to boot. *no pun intended*

For those whose boys might be reluctant readers, this could be one to pique their interest.

[Brooke Skeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think kids would love this! It's funny and entertaining.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

First chapter book I ever read.

[Braeden BOI · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good.

[Aaromal]

Goof

[Mariah Baker]

Read this with my fourth graders during summer school and they loved it, laughed a lot.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting, trying to figure out what will happen and who will win. Read aloud to library classes.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute enough, though the kids are a bit precocious. The dog and the other girl steal the show; as someone else said, there should be a sequel.

[Ciaraming · Rating 3 out of 5]

My sister love this book, she says it a fun read.

[Logan Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Reaction:
I thought this was a quick, humorous read that a lot of boys could relate to or possibly even encourage them to participate in similar competitions. However, the story deals with issues such as financial problems where Colin's parents can't afford to buy him a new pair of shoes. Colin then enters a contest to see who could get their shoes as gross as possible and whoever won got three free pairs of shoes. The story does a great job of talking about bullying and how it has affected the children of our generation. This is a humorous book that is sure to entertain the boys of your class.

Purpose:
One curricular connection that a teacher could go on and on about in this book is the literary element of tone. The words the author uses in this book convey a humorous tone and unique style that is very popular in younger grade levels especially for male students. While this is an entertaining read, this book should be an independent reading novel because it really doesn't have a purpose to be read aloud due to the fact that it doesn't have anything that is imperative to be taught by a teacher. Another literary element that is easy to identify is the theme. The themes of this story are determination, friendship, and perseverance. This is the only way that Colin is able to accomplish the mystery of who took his shoes and participate in the contest.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slam Dunkers, a tennis shoe manufacturer, holds a stinky sneakers contest. The winner brings home three pairs of brand-new Slam Dunker sneakers. Colin hopes to win so that he and his sister can get new shoes and help their parents’ flagging finances. To make his pair of nasty, stinky sneakers, Colin wears them practically non-stop without socks. He doesn’t even wash his feet when he takes a shower! Eventually, the shoes are so rotten that they aren’t allowed in the apartment. The day before the contest, Colin takes his shoes off in the hallway and goes inside. A short time later, the shoes are gone! The only person who would even touch such repulsive shoes would be Colin’s arch-rival and fellow competitor, Jack Dunn. After first, revenge is sweet, but, then, Colin finds out what really happened to his shoes. Now, he has to get Jack’s shoes to the competition before Jack’s oldest brother, Shrike, beats him to a pulp.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colin, age 10, and his little sister, age 7, really need new sneakers. However, their parents are having some financial problems and can't afford to buy them. So Colin decides to enter the Nasty, Stinky Sneakers contest because the prize is three pair of super sneakers. For months he's been getting his old sneakers ready. Of course, he never washes them, never washes his socks, and never washes his feet--and that's pretty hard when your mom insists you take a shower every night. He's pretty sure his sneakers will win. But the day before the contest his sneakers disappear, and he's sure he knows who stole them.

This is a cute, easy chapter book probably for ages 6-9. It's funny and has a good moral at the end. I really like most of Bunting's books.

[Cortnee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a silly book that a lot of young readers would probably enjoy. The story progressed quickly and the chapters weren't too long as to lose a younger reader's attention. I think young reader's would also be drawn in by the mischief the children in the story get into in a way that they might wish they could have such an adventure. There are some more adult elements that may need to be discussed such as financial problems, bullying, and stealing. This book offers a great discussion starter on those topics. Overall, I thought this would be a great chapter book for young readers to be introduced to, especially boys.

[Mustafa · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book has a wonderful outline of how much bullying has an effect on our children and i learned that if you can stand up to that kind of bully then you can do anything in the whole world this book is a bout a young boy who enters a contest to have the stinkiest shoes he pretty much was going to win because his shoes wreaked but accidently some neighbor takes them and makes the white and shiney now he has no shoes . later on he sees one of his school bullies approach him with his shoes........ the rest is for you to find out

[Roytrell Long · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was this boy named colin who had the worst smelling sneakers in town.He found a contest that said whoever had the stinkiest sneakers would win 3 pair of slam dunkers. Colin and his friend amy started to try and make his shoes smell even worse. They had his shoes smelling horrible. He lived in a apartment and his mom wasnt going to let him bring those shoes inside the house. So one day he left his shoes by the door step then woke up and they were gone. He had a man named mr. sabaton use his dog to try and help find his sneakers. He didnt find his sneakers but still won shoes.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second grade +.

Colin is trying to win the Stinkiest Sneakers in the World contest, but things don't look too promising when his sneakers disappear. With the help of his friends, he finds his shoes and figures out how to straighten out a mess with a fellow competitor.

A wonderful story dealing with awkward situations of doing right or wrong. A beginner's chapter book. Wonderful morals and fabulous humor!

[Duane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well done book about a boy who is trying to win a smelliest sneaker contest so he can get the three brand new sneakers given as the grand prize. When his stinky sneakers dissapear, how will he win the contest and who would steal a smelly pair of shoes? Friendly characters make this story a pleasure to read. A nice read for beginner readers.

[Zach Naegele · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, the only thing Colin desires more than the girl of his dreams, is winning the stinky sneaker contest. Colin and his best friend have worked hard to get Colin’s sneakers as smelly as possible, but suddenly Colin’s sneakers go missing. In search of his missing sneakers, Colin steals the shoes of his competitor out of revenge. Overall, the book was entertaining without being drawn out.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eve Bunting is possibly my favorite author of picture books, so I had high hopes for this very easy chapter book that some of my fourth grade students are reading. It was just a blah book...not memorable in any way, really.

[Creighton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about a young boy who entersa contest. This contest is the worst stinky shoes. but when he tries to enter the contest, his shoes go missing! He searches and searches. Will he find them? Read it to find out! Plus it is an ok book.

[Mrs. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book as a read aloud with my upper elementary students. If is a short fun read with competition and rivalry for the worst smelling sneakers. It has a plot that is easy for students to follow with little or no need for explanation.

[Michelle White]

I think this book would be loved by boys. It is about smelling sneakers. What is not to love? I don't know that I would use it specifically in my classroom, but some students would love it.
I got it from the IUS Library.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spencer and I were struggling to find a medium difficulty chapter book that he wanted to read. I read this first and thought it was 3 stars--cute, funny story. When Spencer and I read it aloud, he thinks it is a hilarious 5 star book for 8 year old boys.

[Eagle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters are Collin,Webster,Amy,Mr.Sabaton,Bruno the dog,Poppy,Jack and his brother.Collin is trying to win a stinkiest sneakers contest but his sneakers went missing but he figures out who it is.

[Trent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good. It was fun to read how they got there shoes to smell really bad.It was funny to read how Jack Dunn took Poppy's pink headband off from her head. It was fun to read who won the contest. Read this book to figure out who won the contest.



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