Stink and the World's Worst Super-Stinky Sneakers

Stink #3

by Megan McDonald, Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator)

Follow your nose to a hilarious Stink-fest no kid will want to miss!

GROSS ME OUT! STINK-O! SKUNKSVILLE!

Stink Moody's class is going on a field trip to the Gross-Me-Out exhibit at the science museum, and he can't wait to see the Vomit Machine, the Burp-O-Meter, and the Musical Farts. Best of all, when he gets to the Everybody Stinks exhibit, Stink discovers that his very own nose has amazing sniffing abilities -- and he learns that some people have real jobs sniffing stuff for NASA! Soon the junior olfactory wiz is engrossed in toilet water, corpse flowers, and all things smelly, and he and Sophie of the Elves are set to go toe-to-toe in a stinky sneaker contest. Will Stink's fetid footwear be foul enough to earn him a Golden Clothespin Award? Stink's loyal fans will be holding their breath for his latest outrageous solo adventure.

Genres: Chapter Books, Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Middle Grade, Audiobook

144 pages, Hardcover

First published February 16, 2007

About the author

"Sometimes I think I am Judy Moody," says Megan McDonald, author of the Judy Moody series, the Stink series, and THE SISTERS CLUB. "I'm certainly moody, like she is. Judy has a strong voice and always speaks up for herself. I like that."

For Megan McDonald, being able to speak up for herself wasn't always easy. She grew up as the youngest of five sisters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father, an ironworker, was known to his coworkers as "Little Johnny the Storyteller." Every evening at dinner the McDonalds would gather to talk and tell stories, but Megan McDonald was barely able to get a word in edgewise. "I'm told I began to stutter," she says, leading her mother to give her a notebook so she could start "writing things down."


Critically acclaimed, the Judy Moody books have won numerous awards, ranging from a PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Book of the Year to an International Reading Association Children's Choice. "Judy has taken on a life of her own," the author notes, with nearly 3 million Judy Moody books in print. Interestingly, the feisty third-grader is highly popular with boys and girls, making for a strong base of fans who are among Megan McDonald's strongest incentives to keep writing, along with "too many ideas and a little chocolate." And now -- by popular demand -- Judy Moody's little brother, Stink, gets his chance to star in his own adventures! Beginning with STINK: THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING KID, three more stories, and his own encyclopedia, STINK-O-PEDIA, Stink's special style comes through loud and strong -- enhanced by a series of comic strips, drawn by Stink himself, which are sprinkled throughout the first book. About the need for a book all about Stink, Megan McDonald says, "Once, while I was visiting a class full of Judy Moody readers, the kids, many with spiked hair à la Judy's little brother, chanted, 'Stink! Stink! Stink! Stink! Stink!' as I entered the room. In that moment, I knew that Stink had to have a book all his own."


More recently, Megan McDonald has recalled some of her own childhood with the warmth, humor -- and squabbles -- of three spunky sisters in THE SISTERS CLUB.


Megan McDonald and her husband live in Sebastopol, California, with two dogs, two adopted horses, and fifteen wild turkeys that like to hang out on their back porch.

Reviews

[Jennie Louwes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my children's, and my own, first reading of any of the "Stink" book series. I don't see us pursuing anymore of them; after all, what could top a 5 star read? So satisfied were we within this book's beginning, middle, and end that there's no need for more!

This shows we weren't in love with the characters but more so the story. This also means the series as a whole probably wouldn't live up to the fun we all experienced with this read through. Instead of being let down later, we're going to call our brief stay with "Stink" and his friends a good one and move on to new adventures elsewhere.

Why a 5 star rating then? This book, in particular, was fun, funny, joyous, gross, and captivating. All things adolescents, 12 years old and younger, would appreciate in a book and want to read again and again. (I know this is especially true for a certain 11 year boy child in my life!)

The best part, from a mom's viewpoint? The smelly facts that were intertwined at the end of each chapter. These sparked discussions with my kids; and, how cool is it indeed that there are professional smellers in this world of ours?

The facts shared got my kids running off on some delightful bunny trails during our read through. Any book that keeps my children engaged is typically a winner for them and for me! A well deserved 5 stars.

This book: It's not lovely. It's not deep or layered with meaning. It's simply a straight forward read with some science thrown in. Who could find fault with that? Sometimes straight forward story telling is absolutely the best story telling there is; especially, for kids.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, along with Stink #4, were in a two-book audiobook set. The review is for the two books together.

My kids and I had fallen off the audiobook wagon since the end of the last school year when we were not driving to school any longer, and we just didn't start up again when school started. So, this is the first audiobook I've listened to with the kids in quite awhile. My daughter and I picked up this one and Henry Huggins at the library, and out of the two my daughter chose this one to listen to first.

Me: 2 stars
Son (age 11): 4 stars
Daughter (age 6): 5 stars

Ugh. Well, this one was just not for me. The characters and dialogue just felt flat, and I was never really excited to see what would happen next.

My kids, however, enjoyed it much more than I did, so I suppose the book did its job. My daughter had laughing outbursts one right after the other. And my son said that his favorite bits were the interesting facts in between chapters (yeah, those were pretty fun).

[Erica Sonzogni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some good aspects as well as undesirable ones. I liked that this book was a spin off of the Judy Moody series; for students who like that book or ones who want a male perspective, this would gain a lot of readers. I also enjoyed the science that was added to each chapter which included facts about the world's stinkiest flower (the corpse flower) and other record holders related to smells. I thought that the plot was too dry and tried too hard to be funny with the "gross humor". My student, who loves books like this, found it hard to pay attention and wasn't too excited to pick it up again. I could see how this book would be interested for some, but I found it on the unfunny side of the humor scale.

[Nathano Tomaso · Rating 1 out of 5]

i did not like this book because:

1. it's stinky
2. i don't think people should stink

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting facts about the sense of smell and funny story about a stinky sneaker contest.

[Maki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some good descriptive vocabulary. A fun story for kids about smelly stuff.

[Josephine Sorrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Said the word stink about 5000 times

[Hannah Barton]

In this book stink is horrified by his smelly shoe. This book makes me laugh. Stink can not control the smell of his feet. This book is great for young children. Stink gives you a laugh and makes you happy.

[Alejandro Berges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for lower school, I personally read it in 3rd grade. Yee

[Jonas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stink enters in a rotten sneakers contest. His friend Sophie of the elves was entering too! One of the judges catches a cold so Stink fils in.

[Ensiform · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stink, passionate about all things putrid, is thrilled when his class goes on a field trip to a science museum exhibit on olfactory senses, specifically gross smells ("Where to start? The Vomit Machine? Musical Farts? The Burp-O-Meter?") and finds he has a superb sense of smell. Inspired, he decides to enter his foul shoes into a stinky sneaker contest at the museum, but then gets an opportunity to be a kid judge instead! Now he has to choose between going for personal glory (and beating his friend Sophie) or stepping up to a more responsible role. Along the way, there are fun facts about smell, more silly sibling moments with Judy Moody, and of course, Stink's hilarious cartoon drawings sprinkled throughout. This one keeps the goofy momentum going with just the right blend of second-grade antics and slightly educational content. Stink is a charming oddball, and his struggle with concepts like responsibility and fairness give the story a bit more heart than you'd expect from such a lightweight early reader.

[Kennady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stink is a third-grade boy and is going to a Gross Me Out exhibit on a field trip to a science museum with his class. Stinks teacher dared him to go into the "everybody stinks" exhibit, at first the B.O. almost took him out. But he went on and smelt many other gross things. He then learned that he has a talent for smelling things. At school, there was a flyer for a smelly shoe competition so stink decided the had to join. His plan to use his smell shoes failed when his sister Judy Moody tried to clean them. He then thought of a plan to make a stinky perfume. At the contest, Stink gets to meet a professional smeller.

I gave this book 3 stars, I thought it was an interesting book. I do think that a lot of young boys would enjoy reading this book and seeing what happens to Stinks shoes. Along with the plot, I thought the illustrations were great and help push the plot along. The 'science" facts were a great touch to the story.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Children's realistic fiction, part of a series but can be read on its own. Stink is excited about the class field trip to the Gross-Me-Out exhibit at the science museum. Once there he realizes that he has a super sense of smell and also can stomach gross smells better than his classmates. He hears a bout a stinky sneaker contest and is excited to enter. He finds out his friend Sophie is entering too. But the day of the competition, Stink gets asked to be a judge instead! A bit bummed at not being able to enter, he is excited to learn from some of the best noses out there. This book is a bit high on the gross factor, but is a fun read. I did learn a few things about smells-- such as things must pass a smell test before being allowed into spacecraft.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stink and his classmates take a field trip to the Gross-Me- Out exhibit at the science museum, where they learn of all things smelly. Stink discovers he has a nose for indicating what things are by their smell. Some class members enters the all-time worst super stinky sneaker contest, but when a judge gets sick on the big day, Stink fills in as a judge, and meets a professional smeller. This story is filled with stinky facts.

[Audrey Egan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clara thought this book was hilarious! I thought it was okay. The drawings were interesting and well done, but I think both the storyline and the dialogue lacked in being realistic and interesting. It probably didn’t help that we started with the 3rd book in the series, but Clara found this book in a Free Little Library and wants to read it.

[Paul P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably an entertaining read for children of a certain age, who might be entranced by the book’s playful grossness. It contains some factoids, as well as lots of words related to the sense of smell.

Part of my journey in learning Spanish.

[Angela Sollom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute... read this with Zach

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book in the Stink series so far. Highly recommended.

[retrieverfever · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book

[Natalia · Rating 1 out of 5]

My child tried to read this book but abandoned it very quickly. He never returned to it.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was great, i liked the "surprise" winner at the end

[Angela Mitchener · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Ahnia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This to me, is a very uneducating book, and you may think the same too.

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the book

[Brandom Funez]

he did not win a prize but he did meet Mr. Stink a lot

[piAchu ⚡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borrowed from my tata.

I liked the book but the idea of having a pair of smelly sneakers is disgusting to me.

[Jen Traub · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite of the series so far, but still enjoyable. I can think of many early readers that would enjoy Stink and his escapades!

[J.]

AR 3.5

[Gavin]

All I know is that this isn't the worst book.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Cartwright does an amazing job, again, narrating this book. All the characters have their own unique voice that is consistent in each “Stink” audio book. Very entertaining!