Something Smells! (Blake Liliane Hellman)

Title:  Something Smells!

Author:  Blake Liliane Hellman

Illustrator:  Steven Henry

Target Ages:  3-7

Genre:   Humorous Realistic Fiction Picture Book

Publisher Summary:  There is a smell.  A most terrible smell!  Is it the dog?  Is it the baby?  Is it the trash?  Or could it be Grandma’s Gefartzenschnaffel?  Something smells.  And Elliot is determined to find out what that something is!

First Lines:  

Early one morning,

Elliot woke up

to a most terrible smell. 

He looked around his room

and frowned. 

Something smells, he thought.

Memorable Moment:

“Elliot was disappointed he had not solved the mystery of the terrible smell.”  Readers will solve it—with the picture clues!

Evaluation:

The title is intriguing!  I picked up this book because I wanted to know—What smells?!   Children are sure to be interested too!   Who doesn’t love a mystery?

The story is engaging!  As the curious protagonist goes through the house, he encounters all sorts of possible “terrible” smells.  Each smell is an opportunity to guess if he has found the “right” one.  

There is some subtle humor.  For instance, Elliot thinks it is “perfectly clean” under his bed, and he says his leftover snack from days earlier doesn’t smell—at least not much.   Children will laugh at grandma’s famous dish—Gefartzenschnaffer.  Whether they try to say it themselves or guess what might be in it, there are sure to be some giggles.  The funniest part:  Elliot is unable to figure out the source of the smell—even though it is right under his nose! 

The clever watercolor and gouache illustrations are wonderful.  The soft, muted colors and uncluttered layouts, vividly illustrate the text and add to it by providing clues to the mystery. 

Something Smells is one thing you need to add to your class or home library this year.  This amusing and mysterious read is sure to charm your little ones.

Activities and Extension Ideas for Lesson Plans:

• Predicting Skills:  Ask the children to predict:  What do you think the terrible smell is?   How do you think Elliot will try to figure out the smell?
• Math:  Narrow to the top 5 predictions of the terrible smell.  Children can pick their best guess with a show of hands.  Make a bar graph to show how the class voted.
• Problem Solving:  Discuss how Elliot worked to solve the terrible smell mystery.  Connect this book with problem solving activities related to Math, Games, or Other Activities. 
• Context Clues:  After reading, go back to discover the context clues.  For instance, the smell is something that follows him wherever he goes, his mom tells him he can’t wear his costume one more day, and he doesn’t want to take it off—ever (implying he has worn it a long time).
• Five Senses:  Gather items with different smells—pleasant and unpleasant.  Blindfold one or more children.  Allow them to guess the smells.  Also discuss which smells are the best and which are the worst. 
• Writing:  Pick one smell from the Five Senses activity.  Children can describe the smell using a simple sentence like:  “__________ smells like __________ and ___________.”    
• Similes:  Teach about similes.  Point out examples in the book, such as “Digsy smelled like bacon” and “Lucy smelled like maple syrup.” Then, allow the children to write their own similes about the smell.  “Elliot’s costume is as stinky as a _______.“