Someone Farted

February 1, 2018
Can one stinky toot land the whole Krupke family in the clink? On the way to do the "dreaded" grocery shopping, someone in the Krupke car cuts a biscuit. Sally is the one who smelt it, but no one owns up to having dealt it. The smell gets so bad that their mother wonders if she will faint, and brother Vinnie wonders if they will be poisoned. When their mother sprays hand sanitizer and it gets in their father's eyes as he drives, he nearly hits a pedestrian. Sally and Vinnie begin throwing things at each other, and one of their toys hits the responding police officer--and the whole family is thrown into jail and interrogated. Still, no one owns up to shooting the fairy. In the holding cell with thieves and kidnappers, both parents and Vinnie allow that each could have been the culprit (and one of the kidnappers is sure Sally's lying). An impassioned speech before the judge frees the family...but, unfortunately, they still have to get groceries. Kaplan's gassy guignol will elicit titters at the toot references and a giggle or two at the hyperbolic cause-and-effect plot. The simple watercolor-and-ink illustrations depict scribbly figures with vacant, Little Orphan Annie eyes that accentuate the droll humor. The Krupkes and the cop are pink-skinned; the other criminals are mildly diverse, and the judge has brown skin.For slightly sophisticated connoisseurs of the crass. (Picture book. 4-9)

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Starred review from February 5, 2018
A lot can be said about farts, but one thing is certain: they reveal character. Case in point: Kaplan’s Krupke family. While driving in silence to “their dreaded weekly food shopping,” someone toots. Sally notices it, then denies it, as do her parents and younger brother, Vinnie. The farting continues, and the Krupkes land in jail after nearly getting into a traffic accident (“They were put in a cell with a couple of kidnappers and some thieves”). Pushed to the breaking point, the Krupkes realize that they love each other—even if Sally continues to vehemently deny any gassy responsibility. Dad gives “an impassioned speech about blame and shame and love and family and, of course, farting” that brings the judge to tears. Kaplan’s totemic watercolor-washed characters may be blank eyed, but they’re fully capable of expressing fury and affection (although fury does seem to be their métier). Soon enough, the Krupkes are back in their car and on their way to dreaded shopping, having learned an important lesson about life and/or flatulence: this, too, will pass. Ages 4–8.