"Like big sister Judy, Stink sports a talent for self-expression. . . . The quick-witted dialogue will keep readers entertained." — BOOKLIST

When Stink buys a huge jawbreaker that doesn’t break his jaw, he writes to the manufacturer — and receives 21,280 jawbreakers for his trouble! Soon he’s so obsessed with getting free stuff that he misses an envelope in the mail pile, until his best friend starts looking as mad as a hornet. Thirty-six idioms are sprinkled through the story, inspiring a search that’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

Children’s Literature

Judy Moody’s little brother, seven-year-old Stink, is disappointed when he spends all week sucking on his super galactic jawbreaker only to find that, contrary to its name, it did not end up breaking his jaw. Not one to tolerate such misleading advertising, Stink fires off a letter to the candy company: “There is a big problem with your jawbreaker. It did NOT (I repeat NOT) break my jaw.” When Stink receives an apologetic letter from the company, along with a box containing 21,280 jawbreakers, he embarks on a letter-writing spree that nets him a similar windfall of goodies from other toy and candy companies, all for complaining that Kool Katz bars have their name misspelled, or that a toy robot failed to obey every command delivered to it. McDonald’s lively romp showcases both Stink’s exuberant determination and the power of the pen. Stink, the successful young wordsmith, is fond of pointing out idioms everywhere. To develop this motif, each chapter title is an idiom—e.g., “Kid in a Candy Store,” “Mad as a Hornet,” “A Leopard Can’t Change His Spots”—and each chapter concludes with a cartoon giving a comical illustration of a different idiom—e.g., “Two heads are better than one,” “He got up on the wrong side of the bed.” The whole package is fast paced, fun, and educational, too. Or, to borrow another of Stink’s idioms: “Finger-lickin’ good!” Reviewer: Claudia Mills, Ph.D.

Publish Date : 2007-02-13T00:00:01Z