Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face and the Badness of Badgers - Tapa dura

"Exuberantly silly from start to finish . . . 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." --Publishers Weekly

"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 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."--Kirkus Reviews

"Loaded with silliness and adventure . . . Ketchup-Face's boisterous personality bounces the story along, and the scheming badgers--complete with evil false mustaches--make amusing villains. . . The playful tone and slapstick humor will draw in youngsters." --Booklist

"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."--School Library Journal

"Slapstick humor abounds in this illustrated easy chapter book that is sure to be popular with fans of Dav Pikley and Jon Scieszka."--School Library Connection

A hilarious send-up of fantasy quest novels, perfect for fans of Adam Gidwitz and Jon Scieszka. 

Welcome to the kingdom of Great Kerfuffle! 

Great Kerfuffle is really great. And there's usually a kerfuffle (the clue's in the name really). This particular kerfuffle started the day Stinkbomb's twenty dollar bill went missing. Stinkbomb and his little sister Ketchup-Face know exactly who took it: the badgers. After all, they're called badgers because they do bad things; otherwise they'd just be gers.

They bring news of the badgers' treachery to King Toothbrush Weasel (don't get us started on the story behind his name...), who sends them on a quest to rid the land of badgers. What follows is a full on kerfuffle-fest, containing:  one deep dark forest, a grocery cart in distress, a song about jam--and, of course, a band of very tricky badgers.

Be prepared to laugh your socks off, and maybe your ears, too.