Bound To Stay Bound

Bulletin for the Center... - 04/01/2008 Stink (brother of Judy Moody, first starring appearance in Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid, BCCB 7/05) and his friends Webster and Sophie of the Elves are busy building a replica of the Great Wall of China out of cereal boxes when their wall begins to squeak—three guinea pigs have mysteriously appeared in Webster’s backyard. The kids go to the local pet shop, where they discover 101 guinea pigs wreaking havoc; Mrs. Birdwhistle, the pet shop owner, rescued the laboratory animals, but she’s having a devil of a time keeping them in their cages until she can find homes for them. After an unsuccessful door-to-door giveaway, Stink comes up with the idea of transforming Mrs. Birdwhistle’s old camper into a mobile pet shop, and between mall parking lot stops and a road trip to Virginia Beach, the crew successfully unloads the whole lot, leaving one favorite for Stink. Allusions to sister Judy Moody’s escapades and no reminder of contexts for certain plot details make this more of a companion novel for readers familiar with all of the others in the set rather than a stand-alone or even a Stink-alone read, but the plot is energetic enough to propel new readers forward without a knowledge of what they may be missing; the friendly nods to Disney’s dalmatians will be more accessible to newbies. The notion of a road trip with critters is exciting, the puns and wordplay obvious enough for emergent wordsmiths, and the story arc is easy to follow with some suspense built in around whether Stink will be able to keep his rodent of choice. Faithful Stink fans will surely be entertained as the exuberant Stink gets a furry friend of his own. KC - Copyright 2008 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

School Library Journal - 03/01/2008 Gr 1-3-Stink is back. This time, he and friends Webster and Sophie are working on a cereal-box re-creation of the Great Wall of China when the youngsters discover some mysterious guinea pigs hiding in one of the boxes. They figure out that the animals escaped from the local pet store. Store owner Mrs. Birdwistle informs the kids that she has rescued 101 guinea pigs but can't keep them all. Immediately, Stink and company volunteer to help find homes for them. With funny, and at times quite witty, enthusiasm for the project at hand, Stink and friends help Mrs. B. clean and decorate an old camper that they dub "Squeals on Wheels," which serves as a mobile pet store. As in the previous books, McDonald uses simple, expressive language to keep the story rolling. Stink is a fun, easy-to-love character with an authentic child voice. The action takes off from the very first chapter and is well sustained throughout. Fans of the earlier books, as well as the "Judy Moody" series, will not be disappointed.-Bethany A. Lafferty, Las Vegas-Clark County Library, NV Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. - Copyright 2008 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 03/01/2008 When Stink, Sophie, and Webster discover that pet-shop owner Mrs. Birdwhistle has rescued 101 guinea pigs from a perfume-testing lab, they offer to help her find good homes for the critters. After persuasion, salesmanship, and even a road trip, the friends accomplish their mission This beginning chapter book carries on the series’ tradition with a high-interest topic, a fast-moving story, a reader-friendly format, and pleasing illustrations (some not seen). From the cheerful illustration on the cover to the final turn of events, which takes Stink by surprise, this will appeal to small-animal lovers looking for short chapter books. - Copyright 2008 Booklist.