In an easy-to-read purple and green-toned graphic novel, greet the day with Stinky, a round-headed purple swamp creature, and his pet toad, Wartbelly, as they emerge from their smelly cave filled with rats, bats, and pickled onions, and go for a morning stroll in the swamp. "I love the mushy, mucky mud. I love the slimy slugs," Stinky proclaims contentedly. But on the other side of the swamp is a town, a place with human kids who like to take baths and who don't like smelly monsters. Or so Stinky thinks. When Stinky spies a barefooted boy with a red cap and a toolkit climbing up into a tree house he has obviously just constructed, an outraged Stinky vows to make that kid get out of the swamp. It's not that easy. It seems the spunky kid likes it there, and none of Stinky's plans seems to scare him at all. Even though Stinky does some pretty mean things to him—like hiding his hammer and kicking his red hat into a bottomless pit—readers will understand the monster’s motivation and root for Stinky and the boy to get together as friends.

One of the very kid-friendly Toon series from Little Lit Library (run by Françoise Mouly, wife of graphic novel pioneer Art Spiegelman, author of Maus), this illustration-infused early reader, winner of a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor (silver medal), uses classic cartoon panels, balloon dialogue, and lots of swampy details to immerse readers in the story. Children will want to continue the story in similar style, writing and drawing the future exploits of Stinky Seymour and his new friend, Nick.

THEMES: CARTOONS AND COMICS. FRIENDSHIP. GRAPHIC NOVELS. MONSTERS. SWAMPS.