The Smelly Book by Babette Cole is a book I remember so vividly from my childhood.  We had it at our school and if I think back I can just see it sitting in our Year 1 class.  I recall it was one of the books that was always taken first when we were asked to choose books to read from the book box, (along with the wonderful Ketchup on your Cornflakes by Nick Sharratt).  I remember racing to finish my work so I could be one of the first to choose a book to read. Competitive? Moi?

When I saw this book come up as I was browsing online I wanted to get it for Nye immediately.  I wasn’t sure if he would enjoy it just yet but I was wrong and to my surprise he has already taken it.  He seems to really be getting into the rhythm of rhyming books and unlike quite a few story books he will sit and listen to it from beginning to end and then ask me to read it again.  He has recently developed a taste for some very dull board books that Neil and I try to grin and bear as we are asked to read them for the 7th time in one sitting.  (Amber the Ambulance is not a favourite of ours let’s just say, Chicken Licken is somewhat more tolerable… and in the version we have they do all get eaten by the fox in the end!)

Hence, Nye taking to a book that I loved as a child was a welcome change. I admit I love the slightly strange storytelling and fantastical illustration of all of Babette Cole’s books.  All the books of hers I have read are so far removed from twee, cute and predictable.  I find that they are engaging as well as being truly funny for children and adults, which is probably why the stories have stayed with me all these years.

 Here are just a few pages from the book for you to enjoy:

The Smelly Book by Babette Cole

I am linking up with the TigerlillyQuinn blog We like to Read Linky, you can click on the link below to see what others are reading to their children this week.  You can also see our previous We Like To Read posts, Hooray for Fish and Courtney.