Smelly Bill

PreS-Gr 2—When Smelly Bill falls for Great Aunt Bleach's finicky white poodle, he is soundly rejected by both Peach and her owner. So in love is he that he begs for a bath in order to attempt to win his lady love. Bill's proud owners enter their newly freshened pup in the city park's dog parade, where he's scoffed at for resembling a "toilet brush." When the poodle he adores is threatened by a bully, he's the only one willing to save her. Even Great Aunt Bleach finally accepts him as the brave, kindhearted soul he is and plays chaperone for the new couple. The humorous rhyming text and cartoon illustrations create a fun read-aloud: "What creature was it,/can you tell?/Why, it was Bill without the smell!" Endearing Bill, a snaggle-toothed, pointy-nosed non-pedigreed pup, again comes out as champion in this entertaining "boy wins girl" tale.—Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI