A "Snow White" parody—substituting smelling grossest for fairest—about taking down a tyrant.The seven districts of Rancidia once existed in harmony, the people enjoying the blend of everyone's individual odors and governed by democracy. This putrid peace was shattered when ogre Fiddlefart conquered Rancidia and declared himself both king and Grossest Smelling in the Land. When Fiddlefart's magical Burping Bullfrog sees a new challenger for stinkiest—the humble Hobgoblin, a bean farmer from the neighboring Unincorporated Mucklands—the outraged ogre sends his top scent-assassin, Huntress, to scrub Hobgoblin so clean he'll never stink again. Instead of de-odorizing Hobgoblin, Huntress whiffs him into hiding with the Seven Stinkers, the ousted elected former government of Rancidia, who invite him into the resistance. Amiable but essentially an isolationist who tries "to stay out of politics," Hobgoblin initially takes action only for self-preservation (while Huntress warns: "Anytime a creature is treated unjustly—no matter who they are or where they're from—it's everyone's business"), but the fairy-tale plot trajectory pulls him in so he can join the effort to liberate Rancidia. The bodily functions and other stinky-things-based humor amp the kid-friendliness, frequently put the "pun" in pungent, and occasionally dip into parody musical numbers and sly self-awareness. Happy, rounded, nonthreatening cartoon illustrations make Hobgoblin's delighted tooting downright charming. Some of the Seven Stinkers are female, and one has two mothers.As the stench-loving Rancidians would say: It stinks! (Fantasy. 7-12)

A "Snow White" parody—substituting smelling grossest for fairest—about taking down a tyrant.The seven districts of Rancidia once existed in harmony, the people enjoying the blend of everyone's individual odors and governed by democracy. This putrid peace was shattered when ogre Fiddlefart conquered Rancidia and declared himself both king and Grossest Smelling in the Land. When Fiddlefart's magical Burping Bullfrog sees a new challenger for stinkiest—the humble Hobgoblin, a bean farmer from the neighboring Unincorporated Mucklands—the outraged ogre sends his top scent-assassin, Huntress, to scrub Hobgoblin so clean he'll never stink again. Instead of de-odorizing Hobgoblin, Huntress whiffs him into hiding with the Seven Stinkers, the ousted elected former government of Rancidia, who invite him into the resistance. Amiable but essentially an isolationist who tries "to stay out of politics," Hobgoblin initially takes action only for self-preservation (while Huntress warns: "Anytime a creature is treated unjustly—no matter who they are or where they're from—it's everyone's business"), but the fairy-tale plot trajectory pulls him in so he can join the effort to liberate Rancidia. The bodily functions and other stinky-things-based humor amp the kid-friendliness, frequently put the "pun" in pungent, and occasionally dip into parody musical numbers and sly self-awareness. Happy, rounded, nonthreatening cartoon illustrations make Hobgoblin's delighted tooting downright charming. Some of the Seven Stinkers are female, and one has two mothers.As the stench-loving Rancidians would say: It stinks! (Fantasy. 7-12)

Gr 2-5 -Have you ever read one of the Grimms' fairy tales and said, "This is good, but there's not enough fart jokes in here?" Hobgoblin is the stinkiest in all the land and must flee into the forest or face punishment (a bath) by King Fiddlefart. Following the plot of "Snow White" point by point, Hobgoblin then meets seven magical creatures who help him evade capture. Fans of Dav Pilkey and similar authors may eat this up, as there are plenty of gross-out gags throughout. But most readers will miss the lack of wit and puns that often accompany those well-rounded works; this title, by comparison, is disappointingly one-note. Though there are some clever allusions to the movie adaptation of "Snow White," most jokes fall flat. The art does help elevate the text, as the cartoonish design makes the characters much more endearing. VERDICT Recommended for larger collections.-Peter Blenski, Hartland Public Library, WI