This week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is all about Books and the Candles They Inspire. I love the idea of bookish candles (who doesn’t want their shelves to smell like libraries, lemon cake, or magical forests?), but I couldn’t resist a twist. Instead of candles that smell like or are inspired by books, I went hunting for books that already smell—at least in their titles! From stinky socks to sweet scents, these stories remind us that books can spark our noses just as much as our imaginations.

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Books with Smelly Titles

• Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup. A mischievous bear makes a mess, and the forest can’t stop sniffing!
• Smelly Socks by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko. A boy discovers just how smelly his socks can get in a hilariously gross tale.
• Smelly Bill by Daniel Postgate, illustrated by Nick Sharratt.
  Bill is so smelly that everyone runs away, until a clever solution is found.
• Smelly Peter: The Great Pea Eater by Steve Smallman, illustrated by Martin Chatterton.
  Peter eats peas with gusto, leaving a trail of stink behind.
• Sniff! Sniff! by Ryan Sias, illustrated by Josephine Kamm
  A story about curiosity and following scents that lead to surprises.
• A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk by Deborah Ruddell, illustrated by Joah Rankin.
  A poetry book exploring the scents of nature with fun, engaging rhymes.
• The Case of the Stinky Stench by Josh Funk, illustrated by Brendan Kearney.
  Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast investigate a mysterious stinky smell.
• The Smelly Book by Babette Cole
  A humorous exploration of all things stinky in a child-friendly way.
• Nose Knows: Wild Ways Animals Smell the World by Emmanuelle Figueras and illustrated by Claire de Gastold.
  Nonfiction introduction to how animals use smell to explore their environment.
• The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith.
  A hilarious, twisted take on classic fairy tales with stinky twists.
• The Smelly Locker: Silly Dilly School Songs by Alan Katz
  A collection of funny poems about school, stink, and silliness.
• A Last but not the least book. Had to include one like this at least! Dragons Love Farts by Hollywood Kay and illustrated by Yorris Handoko. If you loved Dragons Love Tacos, you will of course have fun reading this one!!

And Now, the End of This Post

So dear reader, don’t these books prove that titles themselves can carry a scent? Granted, they can be sometimes fragrant, sometimes funky, and always memorable! Whether it’s a smelly sock, a stinky cheese man, or the perfume of something mysterious, these stories remind us that reading is a full-sensory adventure.