SUPER SCHNOZ AND THE GATES OF SMELL

A prenatal pharmaceutical mix-up landed Andy with a “humongous honker” that makes him an object of ridicule at school but also gives him a “super-power worthy” sense of smell.

Bullies at his new school laugh at Andy’s nose until it gives early warning of imminent principal presence, earning Andy respect and friendship from his former tormentors. Peaceful existence is short-lived: A sudden, terrible smell fills the school, canceling classes. The kids would celebrate, except missed days will be made up during summer vacation, unless Environmental Clean Up, Inc. fixes the mess quickly. But Andy overhears a conversation that reveals all may not be on the up and up with ECU. His friends decide that he must use his nose to investigate—they design a superhero costume to turn him into crime-fighter Super Schnoz (they are sidekicks the Not-Right Brothers and Vivian). Experimenting, the team finds ingenious applications for Andy’s nose, such as the power of flight (through inflating his nostrils) and cayenne-pepper attack sneezes. Every power’s needed, as ECU’s nefarious plan will ruin much more than summer break if Super Schnoz can’t save the day. Illustrations highlight how outlandishly oversized Andy’s nose is and back up visual gags. The writing, stylistically, has enough action and danger to keep it on the right side of parody, as well as a sense of humor that deftly mixes the absurd with gross-out jokes and clever wordplay.

Super Schnoz smells like a winner, especially for reluctant readers.