Description: "Find out which animals smell like sweaty feet, rotting vegetables, and buttery popcorn in this guessing game perfect for fun and rowdy read-alouds"-- Provided by publisher.
Review Quotes: A celebratory pinch of the nostrils to 13 particularly aromatic members of the plant and animal kingdoms.
Chen's animated images depict comically paw-waving or otherwise disturbed-looking wild bystanders asking some variation on the titular question. Lunde begins by highlighting odiferous overachievers--from the fabulously feculent striped skunk to the bombardier beetle (which sprays an irritant from its rear when disturbed) to--representing the plant kingdom--the evocatively named corpse flower. From there he moves on to strong but less offensive tangs such as the binturong's popcorn smell, the beaver's vanilla-scented "goo," and the flowery oil that male ring-tailed lemurs rub on their tails to attract mates. The author admits that the purple clouds emitted by sea hares may or may not carry a smell but do somehow distract predatory spiny lobsters. In the same crowd-pleasing vein, he brings his redolent revue to a close with an appropriately waggish salute to the hippo, who flings poop with its whirling tail and so makes the dung hit the fan. Though otherwise naturalistically placed and posed, Chen's creatures bear almost human expressions, and many are wreathed in visible swirls of funk.
A gleeful gallery for any reader with a nose for nature.
--Kirkus Reviews
--Children's Literature