Farticus Stinkamus by Kate Clary

Rating: WARTY!

Here’s another in a long and windy line of gross-out books. This one is written by a female, which is a bit of a novelty. It also sounded amusing because it was set in Roman times, but in the end it was just a gross-out book with nothing really to recommend it. Believe it or not, the author was so pleased with herself that she wrote a sequel. I can’t recommend this.

On the positive side, it did show that effort counts, and didn’t rely totally on flatulence to make a story, but that said, it still did rely heavily on the gross, and the personal effort was essentially lost in the miasma. I think authors can do better and I look forward to the day when the bad smell of authors going for the lowest hanging fruit is wafted away.

The Big Bad Wolf My Side of the Story by Kate Clary

Rating: WORTHY!

If you've ever suffered bad neighbors, you'll enjoy this retelling of the three little pigs from the wolf's PoV. The wolf wasn't out hunting them down and threatening them. She was simply trying to get some peace and quiet and those pesky pigs were building trashy homes next door, and partying noisily into the night. It was simply too much!

I think this chapter book, which is short, simply written, and charming to read, would do great put up against the original story. You could organize it like a court case with your kids, using plush toys for the accused and so on, present each side, and then argue out which is telling the truth! I recommend this one.