School Library Journal Review
PreS-Flies are the only creatures that will come near Big Smelly Bear. He never washes or brushes and is followed by an odorous cloud wherever he goes. Sometimes it bothers him that he doesn't have any friends, but not often. One morning he awakes with a terrible itch on his back. He tries rolling in the dirt and rubbing against a tree trunk, but nothing helps. A voice high up in the tree offers to scratch his back. It belongs to Big Fluffy Bear. There is one stipulation-Big Smelly Bear must bathe before she will come near him. After much negotiation, he succumbs and takes a bath. He is so happy to finally have a friend that he sneaks off to the pond to wash on a regular basis. This charming oversize book is accompanied by watercolor illustrations. Children will love the final picture of Big Smelly Bear soaking in the pond with his rubber duck and a beach ball. Sure to make a splash.-Linda Zeilstra Sawyer, Skokie Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Teckentrup's (Kancil and the Crocodiles) determinedly dirty and deliciously rendered hero looks a lot like a mucky soccer field to which paws, ears and a snout have been added. His name is no exaggeration-he smells so bad that flies "were the only ones that ever came close." What finally gets him to come clean? A bad itch he can't reach and a cutie named Big Fluffy Bear, who offers to scratch his back if he'll take a bath first (she makes this offer while perched in a tree, safely out of range of the stink). The two bears quibble and Big Smelly Bear acquiesces grumpily (the interplay will undoubtedly remind some readers of exchanges between parent and child) but it's clearly the beginning of a beautiful friendship. While its subject matter is grubby, this is one handsome book. Teckentrup creates strikingly graphic spreads from simple, large-scale shapes and expressionistic overlays of texture and color. The combination of the blunt text and bold pictures might even help cajole reluctant bathers to get their feet wet. Ages 3-6. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Perfect for sharing with young children, this crowd-pleaser features an oversized format, a rhythmic text and a cast of big, easily visible woodland creatures--led by a bear who never brushes or bathes: "Big Smelly Bear was followed by a big smelly stink wherever he went. Flies buzzed all around him. But they were the only ones that ever came close." This last becomes a real problem when Bear wakes one day with an unbearable (so to speak) itch in a place that he just can't reach. Happily, along comes Big Fluffy Bear, who is not only willing to scratch if he'll clean up his act, but has the gumption to withstand his initial bellowed refusals. Closing with a scene of tender togetherness, and a final view of Big Smelly Bear in the pond with a scrub brush and a rubber duckie, this should engender roars of approval while deftly making its point. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
