You Smell!

by Clive Gifford

Everyone smells! The sense of smell plays a crucial part in survival, communication, and taste, and is the basis of a multi-billion-dollar industry. But, despite all this, it's the sense we often know least about.

This hilarious and fact-packed book puts that right. Find out everything you could ever want to know about stinks, whiffs, and pongs, from the fruit so pungent it's banned from public transport to the top-secret military program developing the stinkiest stink bomb.

Genres: Nonfiction, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2020

About the author

Clive Gifford is a highly experienced journalist and author with over 170 books published and more than 800 features and stories written for adults and children.

Clive is an unusual author who likes to work in both fiction and non-fiction. Perhaps this reflects his unusual life which, so far, has seen him travel to over 70 countries, be held hostage in Colombia, go parachuting, coach several sports and run a computer games company.

He says: "What drives me more than anything else is the desire to communicate, entertain and inform through the written word."

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

You Smell! is a strong non-fiction title for kids that's all about the wonderful, disgusting, hilarious, and diverse world of odours. I don't think I've enjoyed a non-fiction book quite so much in a long time.

Each spread covers a different topic (everything from how smells work, to animal scents, to the odours of outer space) and is illustrated with simple illustrations. There's quite a bit to look at and read on each page, and readers are probably going to learn a lot. Some of the information is almost too incredible to be believed, but it's all presented in a clear manner that's easy to understand.

If I have one complaint about this book, it's that it's extremely British. (If I ever hear the word "pong" again, it'll be too soon.) There is a glossary at the back that explains some of the words related to scent, but I really think what this book needs is a glossary of British terms, especially if it's going to be released in North America. (Words like "wee", "poo", and "bottom"--which are used liberally--won't be as much of a problem... but "pong" and "spot" might be a little trickier to figure out.)

That said, however, I would still recommend this book, especially to kids who are familiar with these words (or who have someone who can help translate). It's a fascinating look at the world of smells. It does get a bit gross at times, but it's actually pretty tame and probably won't trigger anyone's gag reflex too much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Laurence King Publishing for providing a digital ARC.

[mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for young readers who love science and exploring the senses. The fun facts were interesting, and I loved the illustrations and the quiz and list of vocabulary words at the back of the book. "You Smell!" is both fun and educational.

Also, I'd like to send a huge thank you to NetGalley for the review copy!

[Pam Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Smell! is a fascinating book aimed at children all about how we smell, what we smell, and what different things smell of!

There's lots of interesting facts that you know a little one would be eager to tell all of their friends, their parents, and any adult at the most embarrassing time. Particularly how often we fart. Enjoy that moment!

It is illustrated well, and was a good read. Because it looks at the molecules behind the smells, everyone will learn something from it!

You Smell! was published on 7th October 2019, and is available to buy on Amazon and on Waterstones. I've found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Clive Gifford on Twitter, or through his website.

You can follow Pete Gamlen on Instagram, or through his website.

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Laurence King Publishing (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to the sense of smell for young biologists. This book is full of informative diagrams, fascinating facts and sometimes amusing illustrations.

This is a lovely book to get readers interested in the science of smell and would be great for lower key stage 2 children (7-9 year olds) with it's easy to read chunks of text and bright colours.

I received an eARC of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Lone Damgaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Et fjollet emne som ikke desto mindre er spændende og vigtigt. Igen til de nysgerrige og videbegærlige børn 7-12 år