Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face and the Badness of Badgers

November 14, 2016
Exuberantly silly from start to finish, this madcap fantasy from British author Dougherty introduces a boy named Stinkbomb and his younger sister, Ketchup-Face, who live on the tiny island of Great Kerfuffle. When Stinkbomb’s piggy bank is burgled, he blames badgers (“Think about it. They do bad things because they’re badgers. If they weren’t bad, they’d just be gers”). But after the siblings travel to the (cottage-size) castle of King Toothbrush Weasel, hoping he will banish badgers from the island, the king instead assigns them that very task. Dougherty packs his story with winking references to adventure story tropes, as well as self-referential, metafictional humor (“Do you mean you’re in a story now?” the king asks the children. “Oh, yes,” responds Ketchup-Face. “You can tell because of all the chapters and page numbers and stuff”). Between playful typography, a nearly nonstop onslaught of jokes, and Ricks’s jittery b&w cartooning, it’s a solid choice for readers who have exhausted the Captain Underpants library. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Julia Churchill, A.M. Heath. Illustrator’s agent: Minju Chang, Bookstop Literary.

November 15, 2016
Upon orders from the king of Great Kerfuffle, white siblings Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face embark on a taleworthy quest to rid their home of mischievous badgers.Take a dollop of Jon Scieszka's classic fairy-tale sendups, add a swirl of M.T. Anderson's humorously perilous quests, garnish with a Snicket-ian narrator's crumbled fourth wall, and you have the hilarious first adventure of Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face on the island of Great Kerfuffle. With their parents conveniently out of the way until the end of the story, the sibling duo awakens to find $20 has been pilfered from Stinkbomb's piggy bank, and the only obvious suspects (once they rule out Ketchup-Face, of course) are a band of badgers. Taking their complaint to the king (also white), they are, in turn, sent to rid the kingdom of the badgers, but the pair's quarry is nothing if not wicked ("if they weren't bad, they'd just be gers"). Even with a cat army, a sentient shopping cart, and every story trope on their side, Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face may be outmatched. With metafictive flare, a truly expert deployment of absurdity, and an unrelenting song about jam, Dougherty's narrative is as self-reflexive and entrancing as a Penrose staircase, populated with delightfully inscrutable characters and brought to rollicking life with Ricks' spot illustrations. A study in parodic mayhem. (Fiction. 7-11)

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February 1, 2017

Gr 2-4-The kingdom of Great Kerfuffle is an interesting place to visit, with a wide range of odd and enthusiastic characters that will keep readers guessing and chuckling. Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face are a mischief-making brother and sister who are not afraid to make a mess or strike out on their own adventure. While the book has a fair amount of humor, varied text size and type, and amusing black-and-white illustrations, one weakness may prove difficult for new readers: the author makes too ambitious an attempt to break the fourth wall to create a sort of metafictional tale where the characters know they're in a story. Most kids will overlook these as silly asides and read on to learn about the fate of Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face as they confront the Badgers, who drive cars much too fast, scare innocent chickens, and knock over all the garbage cans.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2016
Grades 1-4 When 20 dollars goes missing from Stinkbomb's piggy bank, his first thought is that his little sister, lovingly called Ketchup-Face, stole it. After listening to her vehement denials, though, it's clear who the culprits must be: badgers. The only thing for it is to see the king, who promptly sends the siblings out to rid the land of all badgers. This early chapter book is loaded with silliness and adventure, ideally suited for young readers. Plentiful illustrations ramp up the humor and often interact with the text, keeping it manageable for newly independent readers; likewise, large, dynamic fonts give readers an assist. Ketchup-Face's boisterous personality bounces the story along, and the scheming badgerscomplete with evil false mustachesmake amusing villains. There is an interactive quality to the narration, which frequently addresses the reader, such as, In most stories, if the heroes were to set off to see the king, you'd expect their journey to take a really long time. Chapters and chapters. The playful tone and slapstick humor will draw in youngsters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2018
On a quest to get King Toothbrush Weasel to rid the kingdom of Great Kerfuffle of robber badgers ("Think about it. They do bad things because they're badgers"), Stinkbomb and his younger sister, Ketchup-Face, end up pursuing the bandits themselves. Brief chapters are chock-a-block with nonstop silliness, snarky fairy-tale tropes, playful type, and exuberant illustrations. This is literary candy for kids, especially reluctant readers.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)