Review of Stinky by Eleanor Davis

Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book Spins a Wonderfully Gross Tale

Feb 11, 2009

Who would have thought that monsters were scared of kids? Cartoonist Eleanor Davis did -- and it led her to publish a children's book.

Stinky is a swamp monster who loves his smelly home with its rats, bats, porcupines, and slugs. He loves playing in the mud with his giant toad Warthog. And he especially loves eating the pickled onions he grows in his private garden.

The only thing Stinky doesn’t love are kids! Kids who eat cakes and apples and (horror of horrors!) take baths!

So when a boy named Nick decides to build a tree house in Stinky’s swamp – well, how do you expect Stinky to react? The kid has to go!

Monster Tricks

But getting rid of a kid isn’t easy. Stinky tries everything. He steals Nick’s hammer, pretends to be a ghost, and tries scaring him with Warthog. Unfortunately, Nick turns out to be one of those weird kids who actually likes toads and swamps – he even befriends Warthog and (ugh!) re-names her “Daisy!” What’s a monster to do?

Then Stinky slips and gets stuck in his bottomless (well okay, very deep) pit. The only person who can get him out is Nick. Can Stinky get over his fear of Nick and share his swamp?

An Award-Winning Comic Book

Awarded the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor in 2009 by the American Library Association, Stinky has been recognized as one of America’s outstanding books for beginning readers. One look at the book and it’s easy to see why – Stinky can be enjoyed by generations of readers thanks to its timeless tale of childhood feuds and lack of dated cultural references.

As part of the Little Lit Library’s TOON Books collection, Stinky is also the latest in a series of comic books designed specifically to be read by young children. While offering comics to early readers is nothing new (Kean Soo and Andy Runton have been entertaining kids for years with their all-ages comics Jellaby and Owly) it's gratifying to see gifted cartoonists such as Stinky creator Eleanor Davis cater to this often overlooked segment of comic book audiences.

Indeed, Davis’ artwork shows just how well comic books can help improve a child’s vocabulary and teach visual literacy. Hardly a page goes by where Davis doesn’t include a label or caption naming the pictures of Stinky’s cave, swamp, or pickled onions, helping kids form connections between words and their images.

In the end, however, Davis remembers that Stinky’s main purpose is to entertain – which she does by providing many priceless sight gags. It’s hard not to laugh at Stinky’s animal neighbors when they wear clothespins on their noses or giggle as hearts spin around Warthog when she falls for Nick. Moments like these remind readers of the simple joy of comics – and easily earn Stinky a place next to picture book classics such as William Steig’s Shrek.

The copyright of the article Review of Stinky by Eleanor Davis in Picture Books is owned by Michael Jung. Permission to republish Review of Stinky by Eleanor Davis in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.