Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup

This is a very cute story about the virtues of bathing, as seen through the eyes of a bear who has a distinct lack of personal hygiene skills.

Just looking at the cover, the comparisons with Eric Carle's style will be inevitable (something that the publishers seem to have intended, considering the layout).

The story is simple, but clever. Big Smelly Bear never bathes. The only creatures who want to come near him are flies. The other forest animals all ran to get away from his stink.

But when Big Smelly Bear needs a friend to scratch an itch that he can't reach, he might finally have to take that dreaded bath. He may even find that his friendship with Big Fluffy Bear is worth the trouble of an occasional dunking in the river.

Kids will giggle over the title and the main character, and the book gives some good positive reinforcement about baths, as well as some lessons in friendship. The illustrations are colorful and fun, and the book is a good length for a quick bedtime story with big legible print for youngsters to follow along.

This book was a birthday gift for my nephew (age 3), and it is #5 in my goal of reading and reviewing 50 books in 2008.