Stinkerton McPoo Goes Exploring

I almost scrolled past this book and didn’t pick it up, and boy am I glad I didn’t. This is the perfect example of “don’t judge a book by its title.”

Stinkerton McPoo was inspired by the author’s real dog, Fia. Author Hodgekinson-Soto has crafted a clever and hilarious tale that kids will love. Who doesn’t love a little bathroom humor about a stinky, smelly dog?

The colorful, cartoonish illustrations are eye-catching and kids will love how bright and vibrant they are. The story is written in rhyme and flows easily for adults reading to kids or for young readers to read themselves.

Stinkerton is loved by her family made up of two dads and their two kids. The LGBTQ+ aspect of this is delightful, critically important, but also not in your face. The story stays focused on Stinkerton, but the family is crafted on the author’s own real life family of his husband and two children. Seeing representation in children’s stories is so valuable. Children need to be able to see families that resemble their own, while many others need an opportunity to see loving families that are different then their own as well.

Stinkerton gets out of the gate one day and has a wild adventure around town. From tangling with the Butcher to bumping into the Post Person, Stinkerton causes problems for everyone. They all end up chasing after Stinkerton as she runs away with her stolen sausage links. She even crashes into the classroom of her human siblings.

Stinkerton seems to be causing nothing but chaos, until she hears the cry of a little girl. Her kitten is trapped in the pond. Stinkerton doesn’t think twice before dropping her precious sausages and swimming out to save the kitten.

The lesson I took from this was that despite everyone’s flaws, everyone also has unique talents and gifts to contribute. Everyone can help out in their own unique way. Despite Stinkerton’s smell and her tendency for trouble, she always did the right thing and helped out those who needed it without needing to think twice. She was a great character to read about and I absolutely recommend snagging yourself a copy.