Stinkiest!: 20 Smelly Animals

Gr 1-3--Jenkins offers an informative and lively journey into the world of stinky and speedy animals for primary grade students. Smart layout design in both volumes will make for a seamless reading experience for a variety of learners--fact-filled short paragraphs, maps, size comparison diagrams, and accurate illustrations will please browsers and researchers alike. In Stinkiest!, readers will learn that the honey badger uses a stink bomb if threatened and even birds are in on the smelly action--the hoatzin farts a lot and the female green wood hoopoe can spray a foul oil to deter predators. Speediest! is a solid mix of familiar and unexpected creatures: cheetahs and brown hares but also mantis shrimps and aardvarks. Both volumes are graced with Jenkins's signature torn- and cut-paper collage, which showcase a variety of bold colors and textures. Overall, the two titles have a playful and inviting tone that will be appreciated by kids. However, the majority of the titles cited in each book's bibliography are quite old with most published in the early 2000s but a few in the 1980s and 90s. VERDICT A riveting series for animal lovers and a good choice for science shelves.--Kathia Ibacache, Simi Valley Public Library, CA

In this addition to the Extreme Animals series, author-illustrator Jenkins explores aromatic animals, leading with an irresistible question: "What animal is the smelliest of all?" Omitting strong odors actually serves a purpose for many species on the list, Jenkins explains--notably, as self-defense and to protect territory (predators don't want to be around or eat stinky animals). Mammals on the list include the honey badger, striped skunk, and ring-tailed lemur; bugs, sea creatures, and birds are also contenders: the hoatzin (aka, "stink bird") takes a long time to digest food, resulting in "a lot of smelly gas--bird farts." A purple sea slug called the sea hare, meanwhile, "protects itself by releasing toxic, bad-tasting purple ink." Jenkins supplies additional facts about the animals, making their stinky characteristics just one aspect of their biology; his trademark torn-paper collages offer realistic and distinctive visual texture for each animal subject. Also available: Speediest: 19 Very Fast Animals. Ages 6-9. (May)