Underwear is always good for a laugh and this book is a classic example.

It’s time for stories with Mrs. Emerson the school librarian. In the audience are Geri the odd giraffe, Wags the dog and Mr. Stuffingtin the Bear. These guys live on a shelf in the library. Stinky the skunk narrates the event.
Now you’ve probably heard of the boy who cried wolf, but do you know what happened after no one believed him? according to Stinky, the boy moves away to the Big City, where he gets a job crying wolf for The William D. Wolfe Company who .pays folks to cry Wolfe to advertise his, All Sorts Of Fine And Fancy Stuff. As time moves on, the boy gets bored again so, he decides to use his talents to cry UNDERPANTS instead of Wolfe. When the queen hears his cries, she takes great offense. As a result, the Big City is sent into total chaos!

Can this day be saved before it all gets too smelly?

This is the first installment in the Stinky’s Stories series. The book is filled with page after page of hilarious illustrations and the dumb crude humor kids love. Offer this series to young, reluctant, and emergent readers, or any kid who just loves to laugh and be silly.

Chris Grabenstein, author of the famed "Mr. Lemoncello" series is a master storyteller who is most famous for middle grade fiction. He has now turned his talents back to chapter books perfect for the early reader. Grabenstein and his wife J.J. have turned Aesop's "Boy who Cried Wolf" into a fantastic, funny retelling. When the children at the school library are unhappy with the ending of the fable, stuffed animal Stinky Skunk takes over as story teller to add a new ending. Stinky tells the tale with lots of twists and eventually "The Boy who Cried Wolf" turns into a silly retelling of "The Emperor's New Clothes". As Stinky enthralls the children with his story, the other stuffed animals chime in with questions and comments. All the animals have unique entertaining characters. The dog is an eager puppy dog, the giraffe is a bit ditzy, and the stuffed bear is quite stuffy. The story has all the humor that readers have learned to expect from Grabenstein and reminds me of the plots from the various chapter book series that he cowrote with James Patterson. The short chapters are illustrated with line drawings by Alex Patrick that bring the characters to life. Because I am a fan of the author, I requested an electronic advanced copy of this book from the publisher. This fun book lived up to my expectations and will enchant early readers in kindergarten through second grade. I am looking forward to reading future stories in this series. JJ Grabenstein is a professional voice actor and I can't wait to listen to the audiobook actually narrated by the authors.

Chris and JJ Grabenstein hit it out of the ballpark again with the first book of this new early chapter book series! A fresh twist on fractured fairy tales, folktales and fables told from the perspective of a stuffed library skunk will definitely entertain younger readers. And who doesn't love a good story about underpants? Now librarians all over will need a stuffed skunk of their very own. Can't wait for book 2!

I received an electronic ARC from HarperCollins Children's Books through NetGalley.
The Grabensteins are bringing their humor to younger readers in this new series. Set in a library after story time. Readers join the adventures as one of the stuffed animals finishes the tale of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Stinky even puts himself in the story as Bob leaves town and heads for the big city. There, he learns that lots of people cry "Wolfe" to promote the main businesses. He is hired to do the same but becomes bored. Stinky encourage him to use his imagination to do something different. So Bob does. He begins yelling "underpants." As expected, this creates chaos which will be hilarious for young readers. By the end, Bob has found a way to use his imagination and create new products in business with Mr. Wolfe. Alex Patrick's illustrations blend well with the text and bring the characters to life. Looking forward to seeing where this series goes in future books.

I love when authors write books for kids of all ages. My family is a huge fan of the Mr. Lemoncello books and I was excited to see an early chapter book come down the line from Chris and JJ Grabenstein. This book does a great job holding the reader's attention with short chapters, an easy to follow story, and pictures to help break up the chapters. I love these things in an early chapter book, as I believe they help to encourage the reader. I look forward to seeing what other stories Stinky has to share.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was really stinking hilarious, and I'm not even kidding. So many surprises! So many clever references to other stories! And all told safely within the context of children enjoying a shared book. The chapters are short and this would be a perfect book for kids to read out loud together, too. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this hilarious little chapter book

If we have learned anything from Toy Story, it's that toys have a special connection with kids. Stinky is a great library plushie that helps the children who come to visit his library. He tells wonderful stories that will get kids laughing as they read. I can't wait to read Stinky's Stories with my third graders.

My son and I loved this book! It has twists and turns that keep you guessing. He loved the idea of a stuffed animal telling the story and the other stuffed animals chiming in with their opinions. This book would be the perfect addition to a classroom library!

It’s fun to read aloud with voices, too! Truly fun for the entire family! Highly recommend this new series by Chris and J.J. Grabenstein. We have loved all of Chris’ work so far and this is a perfect addition for younger middle grade children.

Thank you to the author, Harper Collins Children’s Books and NetGalley for allowing us to read and review it.

I am so excited to have this early chapter book series on the horizon for my students! I will definitely be purchasing copies for my school library and recommending it. A) It will be great to get them reading Chris and JJ Grabenstein already, so they can grow into the middle grade chapter books and B) the stories are wildly entertaining in just the way 1st and 2nd graders crave! I can already hear the giggles from students either being read this aloud or reading it on their own. I especially loved the God Bless America parody and think it will definitely catch on! After showing the song to another teacher-librarian, she pointed out how great it would be to create a display with it, this book, and other underpants and bum related books! Kids will enjoy the silly antics of these characters and the sense of humor shared in these books!

Chris Grabenstein is a go to kids author. He has written a fun story for young readers that will get even the reluctant readers reading. Cute characters and an entertaining story.