Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 07/01/2019 You would not expect a book called Smell My Foot to be about good manners. Pleases and thank-yous are at a high premium, though, as Chick (a baby chicken) instructs his friend Brain (a large underwear-clad human with an exposed brain) in social niceties. In contention: the smelling of Brain’s foot, which he claims has a great aroma. Chick, however, won’t come near it without a polite greeting and formal invitation. The shoe is on the other foot, so to speak, when Spot (a hungry dog) joins in and his attempt to eat Chick can only by foiled by Brain’s secret weapon: his other foot. It’s as silly as it sounds, just the way budding readers like it, and the word and sentence repetition are good for literacy development as well as remembering your manners. Boisterous art matches the situations with goofy figures in hyperbolic positions, and young readers will love seeing the danger coming before the characters do. A viable Elephant & Piggie alternative for slightly more advanced readers. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 08/01/2019 K-Gr 2—Bell (El Deafo; I Yam a Donkey!; "Rabbit & Robot") returns with another story about grammar, miscommunication, and odd couple friends. In this graphic novel send-up of the "Dick and Jane" primers, Brain, clad only in heart-patterned boxers and sporting either an external brain or a gray hairdo that resembles one, is trying to convince a politeness-obsessed chick to smell his foot. Chick criticizes Brain's phrasing ("I will not smell your foot until you say PLEASE") and intelligence ("Brain, you look very smart…But you are not very smart"). This focus on manners at the expense of kindness almost causes Chick to miss out on what turns out to be Brain's truly alluring foot odor. When Spot the dog wanders by, sniffs Chick's foot, and invites the oblivious bird to lunch (as the intended main course), Brain comes to Chick's rescue by knocking Spot out with the aroma from his (apparently stinky) other foot. New readers may be thrown by the beats of Chick and Brain's dialogue, since the humor relies on unexpected responses (as in the opening exchange: "HELLO, BRAIN." "Yeah, I know. I am Brain.") and discussion of conversational norms. However, the short length and engagingly goofy art—reminiscent of James Proimos's "Johnny Mutton" series—will be a draw for kids who love quirky characters and the amusing premise. VERDICT Although not as successful as Bell's best work, and potentially confusing for some new readers, this hilariously wacky tale will resonate with many children.–Miriam DesHarnais, Towson University, MD - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.