One morning, upon awakening, Elliot’s nose detects “a most terrible smell.” A search for the source commences. There’s nothing stinky hiding under his bed. There doesn’t seem to be a skunk in the neighborhood. It’s not his hamster, his bird, or his dad. At breakfast, Elliot is so busy searching that he ignores his mother’s admonishment (“Not one more day in that costume, Elliot!”) and continues sniffing various human and animal members of the family. It isn’t until Elliot’s mother insists he remove his skeleton costume and take a bath that Elliot realizes what readers have known all along: He is the source of the smell. Detailed illustrations show a large, slightly hectic family home and evidence of a recently celebrated Halloween. Readers who have a leg up on Elliot will laugh at his humorous thought process and total bewilderment. (Ages 3–7)