Reviews

Any kid who assiduously avoids bathtime will find a kindred spirit in Postgate's (The Richest Crocodile in the World) funny, fetid canine hero. Although Bill's human family does their best to get the pooch into the sink, "every time he'd get away/ And live to stink another day." But Bill meets his match when Great Aunt Bleach arrives to dog-sit. "Bill, you will not get away!" Bleach decrees when the pooch secrets himself in what he thinks is the ultimate, take-no-prisoners hiding place. "And, like a great, plump bird of prey,/ She swooped down to the compost bin./ And landed right on top of him!" Postgate's watercolor-and-ink cartoons pull out all the stops, providing the perfect complement to his rollicking verse. Bleach, who sports a pink beehive, harlequin glasses and polka-dot bloomers (the last revealed when she makes a Tarzan-like swing into the compost pile), is the very picture of a comically obsessed foil. Fans of all things grimy and gross will likely find themselves in fits of giggles. Ages 3-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

PreS-Gr 2-This rhyming tale of a putrid-smelling pooch features bright, energetic pictures that are sure to tickle youngsters' funny bones. Bill loves rolling around in all manner of stinky debris and has thus far managed to escape his family's efforts to bathe him. Enter Great Aunt Bleach, who visits while Bill's owners are out and scrubs the house clean before spotting the dog. She makes it her mission to capture him and wrestle him into a perfumed bath. The family returns to find a shocked but sweet-smelling pet and an aunt who ends up decidedly less antiseptic than when she started. The artwork effectively uses white backgrounds to highlight the humorously depicted characters and keep the focus on the zany action. This book is not quite as punny as Dav Pilkey's Dog Breath!: The Horrible Trouble with Hally Tosis (Scholastic, 1994) or as offensive as William Kotzwinkle's Walter, the Farting Dog (Frog, 2001). Gene Zion's Harry the Dirty Dog (HarperCollins, 1956) remains the classic dog-avoiding-a-bath story; although Postgate's hyperactive update is not as enchanting, kids will still appreciate Smelly Bill's antics.-Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.