I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kids will love this gross book about things that stink. Lots of fun facts. A great learning tool.

Edward Kay has introduced excellent narrative to engage young readers raising their curiosity and holding it in a topic that interests them- the gross, the stink, the yuck! factor.

Mid- grade schoolers are going to love this book! What is not going to want these kids, particularly boys, from reading and wanting to create some of these awful smells? They can learn some of the science behind the odors while relishing the read. Well written and always timely.

This is a middle grade book teaching kids about why things smell bad. I mistakenly thought it was as book of science experiments about smells, which is why I requested it. We love science projects and experiments in our house. It's actually just an illustrated book telling about what makes bad smells, with lots of interesting facts and some fairly thorough information behind the science of stench.

Kids who like gross stuff are likely to find it entertaining and learn a bit. Others may be turned off by the sometimes disgusting bits of information. I am not really a fan of the illustration style, which reminds me a bit of Captain Underpants artwork but cruder (in both senses of the word).

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

The idea of using the weird, gross, and funny to get kids to engage with the sciences is nothing new. I'll give Kay this: he dosn't get too gross. We get an overview of the role of molecules and the brain in science. Why things smell good or bad and the scent memory link. It's a solid introduction to those ideas.

Review to appear on GoodReads Apr 2, 2019:

An exploration of how we detect scents, why certain things stink to humans, why it is often good that things smell bad to us, how scent is related to memory, and some other interesting facts about smelly stuff.

This reminds me of Nick Arnold’s Horrible Science series. It’s loaded with goofy illustrations and facts to make kids simultaneously gag and giggle. But this one is in full color and just a couple dozen pages long. Due to the high vocabulary and content, this is definitely aimed at the middle grade crowd. It’s a very approachable science read for reluctant readers, and also the kind of thing that curious readers hunt out. If you don’t like bathroom humor, don’t even crack the cover of this one. (You may accidentally learn the names of the specific chemicals that make poop stink.)

<i>I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

A fascinating book on the science of smells, specifically unpleasant smells. Why do some things smell stinky? The short answer is most of them are dangerous to us and we have evolved to avoid them. As the authors of this book rightfully note, our life would be sweeter without stinks, but also shorter. Full of quirky fun facts, the book covers a variety of topics, such as how we smell (we have six million smell receptors), why smells trigger memories, foul-smelling animals and plants as well as super-sniffer creatures.
Funny, entertaining and informative, Stinky Science would make a great addition to a school library.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for an ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Stinky Science: Why the Smelliest Smells Smell So Smelly by Edward Kay is a middle grade non fiction book about the science of smells. It starts with the basics, from the reason why things stink to how our sense of smell works (hint: it has to do with the six million scent receptors way up inside our noses). Then come some specifics such as how and why smells are closely linked to memories, descriptions of some of the stinkiest stinks on Earth and information about the chemicals that smells are made of. (Young readers finally learn why feet and some cheeses can smell the same!) Altogether, the book offers a complete tour of everything olfactory, while also being a compendium of the best-of in the gross-out category. Poop, rotting flesh, b.o.: what more could a “nose-y” kid ask for?

Stinky Science: Why the Smelliest Smells Smell So Smelly is an every informative and written look at the science of smells. The book is well researched and organized, combining science fact with word play and jokes to keep readers interested, entertained, and sometimes disgusted. There are comic book like illustrations peppering each page alongside text that covers life sciences, such as the human body structure and systems, and molecules and organisms. I like that there is so much more than the human body covered in the book, we get information on crazy animal and plant stinks and smelling abilities as well. The science and silly come together very well here. I know I learned a few things, and I hope that other readers will take the time to read, laugh, and learn as well.

Stinky Science: Why the Smelliest Smells Smell So Smelly is an entertaining and informative read. The text is well balanced with comic images and humor to keep readers forging ahead and learning.

Stinky Science is a fun and disgusting book about our sense of smell. I enjoyed learning about why certain animals and plants smell the way they do. I also learned about animals that have incredible sniffers, having the ability to smell things from miles away. For example, a shark can detect a single drop of blood up to two miles away! Two thirds of a shark’s brain is devoted to their sense of smell. Pretty incredible stuff!
This is a silly yet interesting children’s book on the science of smell. I would definitely recommend it!
Thank you to Kids Can Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy, my opinions are my own.
This will appear on my blog December 9, 2018.
www.colecampfireblog.com
LanaLCole@yahoo.com

What a wonderfully awful smelling book about stink! Edward Kay takes us on a journey through stench as illustrated by Mike Shiell. Foul odors can be found in all walks of life and Kay pauses to explore and explain many of them. My personal favorites are the sloth (who knew they had that many bugs living on them) and their insights into perfume. This book would make a wonderful addition to any home or classroom - after all, who doesn't like reading about the nasty side of life?

Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the opportunity to read this advance reader copy.

Avoid licking a rattlesnake… yes, that and other weirdly comforting comments are made by this book on stinky smells. It sounds like being a really slimy guide to snotty science, but actually turns into something much better – telling us, with the help of yucky illustrations of course, all about how we evolved to detect and loathe the scent of smoke and rotting food. It gets us much further – even into brain anatomy – to give us all it can about the olfactory sciences. So well done to the creators for disguising so much common sense science in a way that makes us think we're just going to share quality time with some guffs and whiffs! Pongtastic animals, plants and chemicals round things off, and all told this book is well worth recommending. I, despite much experience reviewing junior non-fiction, have never seen a book solely on this subject, and whatever your bent I can assure you this volume is much better than you would ever suspect. Dare I knock it down a mark by blinding young audiences with lengthy scientific terms? I don't think so – this was too much fun all told.