THE FART DETECTIVE

The Fart Detective solves some aromatic mysteries and educates the next generation in Broughton’s latest picture book.

Whoever smelt it, dealt it, right? Well, not always: Enter the Fart Detective. His job is to sniff out the culprit of the silent-but-deadly variety of flatulence. When a child passes gas in his classroom, he and his peers scramble out of the room to escape the awful smell. The scent eventually makes its way to the titular Sherlock Holmes–esque detective, who’s in search of the disagreeable smell’s source but not interested in shaming the perpetrator for their odoriferous actions: “Farts are funny, if not overdone. It’s not nice to embarrass someone.” In fact, the detective is so knowledgeable about the forensics of farts that he becomes a guest speaker in the aforementioned child’s class. Unfortunately, the class’s teacher wants to ban the Fart Detective from the school entirely. The lesson at the book’s core—essentially, not being ashamed of your natural bodily functions—is a valuable one, but the story can often get confusing. Several plot elements, like how the detective came to speak to a school without prior approval by the administration, are hard to put together. Broughton’s rhyming narration likewise misses the mark, as many lines don’t scan and pairings such as “fartin’” and “certain” just don’t work. Ross’ illustrations—mainly of the mustachioed, deerstalker-wearing Fart Detective himself—are bright and expressive but lack context.

A well-intentioned picture book about flatulence that falls flat.