SMELLY BILL

Bill is a wily, scraggly, snaggle-toothed mongrel who absolutely loves icky smells. He adores perfuming himself by immersion in all manner of garbage and gunk. After catching a whiff of his reek, his family is fond of telling him, “You stink!” They try myriad ways to get him clean, but Bill is like Houdini when it comes to escape. Until, that is, the day Great Aunt Bleach arrives. She loves all things clean and with a resounding “Tally-ho,” she scrubs the house “from tip to toe.” When she becomes aware of the odoriferous canine, she makes it her personal duty to eliminate the nasty smell. “Bleach twittered, ‘Come on doggie-woo / It’s bathie-wathie time for you!’ ” She lures and wrangles, but the beast gives her the slip over and over again. After great feats and amazing antics, Bleach prevails. Or is it she who gets the short end of the stick? The illustrations are robust with squiggly characters and awash in watercolors. Reminiscent of Mrs. Wishy-Washy, but with far more delightful rhymes, this is truly tail-wagging fun. (Picture book. 3-7)