Making Scents

by Arthur Yorinks, Braden Lamb (Illustrator), Shelli Paroline (Illustrator)

Overview

Mickey isn't quite like his brothers and sisters. They're all stronger, faster, and have a much better sense of smell. That’s because his "brothers and sisters" are dogs—bloodhounds, to be exact. Mickey’s mom and dad are crazy about canines. Their dogs are the loves of their lives and their livelihood. So, naturally, they’re raising their son as if he was a dog, and Mickey wants nothing more than to make his parents proud.

Just as Mickey is mastering the art of sniffing, a tragic accident forever changes his happy family. Mickey is sent to live with relatives he's never met—relatives who are not fond of kids . . . and who hate dogs!

Making Scents, a laugh-out-loud graphic novel for young readers from Arthur Yorinks, with illustrations by Braden Lamb and Shelli Paroline.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250173935
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	06/27/2017
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	242 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Arthur Yorinks is the author of more than thirty-five acclaimed and award-winning books. He has teamed up with many famed illustrators including Maurice Sendak, William Steig, and Mort Drucker. His book Mommy? was a New York Times bestseller.

Braden Lamb grew up in Seattle, studied film in upstate New York, learned about Vikings in Iceland and Norway, and began an art career in Massachusetts. Now he draws and colors comics, including Adventure Time, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Shelli Paroline escaped early on into the world of comics, cartoons, and science fiction. She has returned to the Boston area, where she is an illustrator and co-director of the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo. Shelli has contributed to Adventure Time comics.

Arthur Yorinks has written and directed for opera, theater, dance, film, and radio and is the author of over thirty-five acclaimed and award-winning books, including Hey, Al, a children’s book, which earned the Caldecott Medal in 1987. From the age of 6, Yorinks studied to be a classical pianist, under former Juilliard professor Robert Bedford. At 17, veering from a potential profession as a classical musician, Yorinks began over four decades of writing and working in the performing arts. In the field of opera, Yorinks was Philip Glass’s librettist for the operas The Juniper Tree and The Fall of the House of Usher.

Through his forty years of picture-book making, he has teamed up with many famed illustrators including Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Mort Drucker, David Small, and Richard Egielski. His book, Mommy?, was a New York Times bestseller. Mr. Yorinks lives in New York City and continues to write and direct.

Braden Lamb grew up in Seattle, studied film in upstate New York, learned about vikings in Iceland and Norway, and began an art career in Massachusetts. Now he draws and colors comics, including Adventure Time, and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Shelli Paroline escaped early on into the world of comics, cartoons, and science fiction. She has returned to the Boston area, where she is an unassuming illustrator and co-director of the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo. Shelli has contributed to Adventure Time comics.

Editorial Reviews

04/17/2017
Yorinks’s eccentric graphic novel opens as a couple that keeps bloodhounds finds a baby under a tree. They treat Mickey like one of their dogs, insisting that he learn to track like the hounds do. From Mickey’s perspective (he narrates), the bloodhounds are his older siblings, and he idolizes them: “I practiced... and I practiced. I studied. I even prayed.” (He’s seen kneeling before a picture of Jimmy “The Nose” Durante.) Mickey’s unorthodox upbringing means that he’s in constant trouble; on the night of his greatest school triumph, his parents are killed in an accident. Mickey is separated from his dogs, his new guardians are awful, and it’s hard to see how things will work out—but, somehow, they do. Lamb and Paroline’s quirky ink lines soften difficult moments, and their panels—splashed in drab yellow, teal, and orange—shine, especially in the scenes where Mickey learns to track (the elusive scents are traced in pink). Yorinks (The Invisible Man) pulls off a tricky feat; he creates a set of characters who are difficult to like, then makes readers care about them. Ages 7–10. Author’s agent: Tina Wexler, ICM. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"Set against a bygone backdrop completely lacking in any nods to contemporary technology, Lamb and Paroline's catchy three-color illustrations establish the retro-styled ambiance." —Kirkus

"Children who have experienced loss will relate to this warm and slightly fantastical tale. A solid choice for most graphic novel ­collections." —School Library Journal

"Yorinks pulls off a tricky feat; he creates a set of characters who are difficult to like, then makes readers care about them." —Publishers Weekly

"Gorgeous, melancholy graphic novel." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Humor stems naturally from the absurdity of thepremise, while the heartfelt moments are as tender as they come. "—Horn Book

From the Publisher

07/01/2017
Gr 2–5—Foundling Mickey had a very happy, if somewhat unusual, childhood. A loving couple who raised bloodhounds adopted him and taught him to think of the dogs as his siblings and to develop his own sense of smell to an extraordinary degree. When Mickey's parents unexpectedly die, he is sent to live with his mother's estranged sister and her husband, a childless older couple who hate dogs and don't understand Mickey. Now Mickey must cope not only with his grief but also the expectations of his new family, who demand he behave like a conventional boy. The artwork effectively conveys the book's 1950s setting. Illustrations outlined in ink on single-color panels with an occasional swirl of pink to indicate various scents immerse readers in Mickey's world. The characters are distinct and expressive, and the action flows well. VERDICT Children who have experienced loss will relate to this warm and slightly fantastical tale. A solid choice for most graphic novel collections.—Kelley Gile, Cheshire Public Library, CT

School Library Journal

2017-03-15
In this thoughtful graphic novel, a human boy who believes himself to be part dog seeks acceptance for who he is.Mickey's brothers and sisters all have four legs. His ardently dog-loving parents are professional bloodhound breeders who never planned on having a child. His parents encourage Mickey to develop his own sense of smell, which becomes just as acute as his hound siblings'. However, when his parents suddenly die, he goes to stay with his estranged aunt and uncle, a much older couple who hate dogs and demand that Mickey start acting like a boy. Now in the throes of grief, Mickey must also struggle with having to conform to someone else's idea of whom he should be. Yorinks spins a pensive yarn with a quiet undercurrent of magical realism. Despite the muted tone, his message about acknowledging people for who they are inside and not who others wish them to be is gently insistent and touching. Set against a bygone backdrop completely lacking in any nods to contemporary technology, Lamb and Paroline's catchy three-color illustrations establish the retro-styled ambiance. Although the theme of acceptance permeates, readers should note that it does not address this in any racial context, as nearly all of the characters appear to be white. A heartfelt tale of acceptance, tolerance, and grief. (Graphic fiction. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews