"Lenny gave both the anteater
and the skunk a big sniff.
But neither was the whiff
he could sniff.
He settled down in his sunny
spot to try and snooze, but it
was no good.
Whatever it was, the nasty
niff was getting right up
his nose."
Poor Lenny the Lemur is on vacation in South America. Finally finding a comfortable spot for a snooze, he is just settling in when his nose is assaulted by a nasty smell that almost knocks him off his perch. He blames a nearby millipede. The millipede admits to a bit of a stink, and lets Lenny have it. Yep, it's powerful; it is not the smell that has Lenny so upset.
Lenny goes on to blame the stinkbird, an anteater, a skunk, a stink bug, a sloth, and finally, a giant pelican flower. All smell terrible, but none as bad as the odor he is trying to find. After all the moving about and searching, the animals of the rainforest offer their help. They ask Lenny to describe the bothersome odor. As he tells them, they share a giggle and make the point that the odiferous smell is coming from ... Lenny himself!
Just as he is settling once again, Lenny's nose is assaulted by a smell he cannot describe ... and he turns to the reader!
What an imaginative way to write a nonfiction book for young readers! Animals of the rainforest are introduced, as is their habitat, in colorful, appealing artwork created by Nicola O'Byrne. The facts are clear, the setting lovely, and the story is a hoot. You can hear the guffawing, can't you?
Following the story, the author provides 'Super Stinky Facts!' about each of the creatures Lenny meets in his quest to find the origin of the smell that is so bothering him. She adds a quick, and slightly worrisome, fact about her readers, too. Poo!
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