Hey, it's Reading with Rella B. I just have one question.
Are you ready?
Are you ready to come along with me?
Are you ready to imagine with Rella B?
Well, hello and welcome to Reading with Relibee.
I'm your host and fellow friend Relibee, and we will be reading some amazing books today, written by awesome authors.
But before we get into that, if you're new here, let me tell you a little bit about what we're going to be doing.
So first, we're going to start with a riddle and then we're going to do an interactive activity.
And following that, we're going to be listening to our amazing author friends read us their incredible story and answer a couple of questions about it.
So let's go ahead and get into our riddle.
Hint number one, I'm black and white with a stripe down my back.
Do you know what I am?
Hint number two, when I feel scared, I make quite a stink.
Hint number three.
You smell me before you see me.
What am I?
I'll give you a few seconds to guess.
Good job.
If you guessed a skunk, then you would be correct.
And the reason that our riddle was a skunk today is because we're going to have an amazing author come and read us their story about a family of skunks.
But before we get into that, let's think about Mimi, how a skunk feels when they're scared, because the only time that they're very stinky is to defend themselves.
So can you imagine if you were a little skunk Walking through the woods, walking through the woods, and then maybe you see a bear?
And you're like, oh my goodness, there's a big bear and I don't want them to see me.
So then you use your defense mechanism and you just dink up the place.
What situations would you use your defense mechanism?
I know sometimes I'm a little bit afraid of the dark and I like to use a nightlight.
What about you?
What are things that you might be afraid of?
And what are things that make you unique?
Because I know in this next story we're going to be talking about a little stomach.
That is very unique.
So let's go ahead and bring out the author.
Hi friends.
So we are here today with an awesome guest.
This is Sarah and she's going to be sharing a very special book with us today.
I know you can't see her, but she's dressed as an adorable skunk.
And guess what?
Her book is also about a skunk.
So let's go ahead and welcome her today.
This is Sarah.
Hi, Sarah.
How are you?
Hi, guys.
I'm so good.
I'm so excited to be here to read my book to you all.
Yes, we're excited to hear it.
So I know you have a very special skunk.
So can you tell us a little bit about them?
What's their name?
Do they look different than other skunks?
Sure.
Yes.
So it's actually a family of eight skunks.
But the main character's name is Malarella, and there's something very unique about her.
She can't smell.
She was born with no sense of smell.
Wow, that is so interesting because when I think of skunks, I definitely think of smell and stinkiness.
So, what made you want to write a book about a skunk that couldn't smell?
Yes, the unique thing about me, kiddos, is that I can't smell.
I was born without a sense of smell, just like Smellerilla.
Can you imagine what it's like to not be able to smell cookies or brownies or pizza?
That's just what I go through every day.
Oh, but does that make you sad sometimes?
Or how do you feel about that?
You know, maybe not actually as sad as you think, because there are advantages to not being able to smell, such as I don't have to smell stinky stuff like skunks.
Or rotten eggs.
Or moldy cheese.
So, but there's certainly disadvantages.
But, you know, we work with it.
Well, thank you so much for sharing that with us.
And I think we're ready to start your story.
Yay!
The Skunk Who Couldn't Smell by Sarah McCormick and Michael Smith.
Melarela Skunkerton always knew she was unique, but she didn't quite know why.
After all, she looked like all the skunks she knew.
She liked to eat fruit and dig for bugs just like them.
And when she was scared, her skunk spray came out like the other skunks did too.
Still, Smellerella knew something about her wasn't quite the same.
One day, Smellerella and her siblings came home from school to find their mom baking.
Mmm, it smells so good in here, her sister Savvy declared.
Yum, fresh bread, her brother Sneaky Pete added.
Smellerella stuck her nose in the air into confusedness.
What were they talking about?
She couldn't smell anything.
Curious, Smelleroa held a loaf of piping hot bread to her nose.
Hmm.
Why can't I smell this, she wondered.
The next day, Smellerella raced home from school ahead of her siblings.
Her mom had promised to make chocolate chip cookies, and she couldn't wait to smell them.
Smellerella sped into the kitchen and saw the warm cookies sitting on the counter.
Closing her eyes, she took a big sniff.
Smellerella's eyes popped open with shock.
She couldn't smell the cookies either.
But maybe, was it possible the cookies simply had no smell?
That thought didn't last long.
The other Skunkertons quickly piled into the kitchen, raving about how delicious the chocolate chip cookie smelled.
Smellerella felt her stomach tie itself in knots.
If she couldn't smell the cookies and she couldn't smell the bread, what else was she missing?
Grabbing her journal, Smellerella headed outside to investigate.
Grass?
Nope.
Flowers?
Uh-uh.
Pigpen?
Not a chance.
Smellerella was starting to feel desperate.
She even tried spraying a dog. but she couldn't smell that either.
Though, by the look on the dog's face, he sure could.
Smellerella headed home, anxious to talk to her mom.
But as she opened the door, she remembered her mom was working.
What's wrong?
Sneaky Pete asked.
You look upset.
I have a problem, Smell-a-Rolla confessed.
I can't smell.
Sneaky Pete raised an eyebrow.
You can't smell?
Who's ever heard of a skunk who can't smell?
This I've got to see.
Sneaky Pete blindfolded Smell-a-Rolla and put her through a sneaky smell test.
What foot am I holding?
Sneaky Pete asked.
Smellerella took a deep breath.
I don't know, she said with a shrug.
Sneaky Pete was sure Smellerella was lying.
But how could he prove it?
Gathering his siblings together, he asked them to find the stinkiest items around.
Before Smellerella knew it, she was being asked to sell moldy cheese, sweaty socks, rotten eggs and Sneaky Pete's weak old gym shorts.
Ugh.
Smellerella was growing impatient.
Enough, she shouted.
I can't smell anything.
Stinky Pete still wasn't convinced and he had to sneak a jerk up his sleeve to prove Smellerella was lying.
He unscrewed the cap of the pepper shaker and shoved it under Smellerella's nose.
As Smellerella breathed in, the pepper tickled her nose and made her sneeze.
Busted!
The Skunkertons yelled in unison, You sneezed!
That proves you can smell, added Sneaky Pete.
Tears streaked down Smellerella's face as her siblings danced around chanting.
Smellerella said she couldn't smell, but the pepper had a different tale to tell.
She knew they would never believe her now.
Just then, Mama Skirkerton came home from work.
Seeing Smellerella's tears, she asked, What's wrong, honey?
Smellerella stopped.
I've tried smelling everything from cookies to grass, but I can't smell anything.
She's lying.
She sneezed the pepper, Sneaky Pete shouted.
She failed my sneaky smell test.
What's a sneaky smell test, Mama Skunkerton asked.
They made me smell all sorts of stinky stuff like moldy cheese and sweaty socks, but I couldn't smell any of it.
Then they put pepper under my nose.
When I sneezed, they all said I was lying.
Mama Skunkerton wiped away Smellerella's tears.
Smellerella, she said.
Pepper makes you sneeze because it tickles your nose, not because of the smell.
I believe you, and I promise we'll get to the bottom of this.
A few days later, Doc Dickens looked over Smellerella's notes.
Grass?
Cookies?
Moldy cheese?
You really know how to conduct a proper experiment, he said.
But I have a few tests of my own to run.
They may help me figure out what's going on.
First we will start by taking a look up here.
Doc Diggins explained poking around in Smellerella's nose.
Hmm, I think we need a deeper look.
Smellerella, Doc Diggins said.
I know what's wrong with you.
Smellerella practically jumped off the exam table.
Really?
What is it?
You don't have an olfactory bulb, stated Duck Diggins.
Smellerella touched Trinella's gingerly.
An old what? she asked.
Duck Diggins chuckled and then explained.
An olfactory bulb.
It's what helps your brain distinguish smells.
You were born without one.
But if I was born without it, that means that you have never been able to smell a corrupted duck Biggins.
Not even as a little baby skunk.
You just didn't notice until someone brought it up.
On the drive home, Smellerella looked sadly out the window.
The world was full of smells, but not for her.
She wondered what else she was missing out on.
Suddenly, Sneaky Pete pointed at Stinkerina's shoulder and shouted, Spider!
Stinkerina turned and saw a giant, creepy spider before she knew it.
She accidentally skunked the whole thing.
Stink Arena, Sneaky Pete groaned, sticking his head out the window to avoid the smell.
It was just a toy spider.
Ugh, this smells so bad.
Watching her family, Spellerella started to smile.
She couldn't smell bread or cookies, but she also didn't have to smell Nicky Pete's weak old gym shorts or stinkerina's skunk spray.
Maybe having no sense of smell wasn't all bad.
Smellerilla grabbed her journal to make one final note.
I always knew I was unique, and now I know why.
The end.
Oh my goodness, that was awesome.
I love Smellerella and Stinkerina and Stinky Pea.
They're so cool.
How could they have such a big family?
Yes, great question.
So I actually have five brothers and sisters.
And the characters in the book are my brothers and sisters.
And they're all actually named very similar to what their current names are.
So Sneaky Pete is my brother.
And Stinkarina.
She's actually named after my sister Maureen, who we call Rain, who actually in real life is very gassy.
So therefore, Jesus, she got called Stinkarina.
I love that.
That is so cute.
So I know that it was something that was brought up to Smellerella, not being able to smell.
So when she finally had that brought up to her, then she realized that she was missing that sort of sense.
Was that the same for you?
Yes.
Yep.
So actually what went, what happened in this story is very, very similar to my real life.
So my, my brothers and sisters didn't believe me.
They actually did sit me down and blindfold me and put me through a smell test, except they didn't use pepper.
They used chemicals.
Yeah.
They were a lot meaner than what was written in the book.
I mean, they're all very nice now, but you know, they just, kids are kids.
So, and when the chemicals kind of burned my nose, I moved my head and they all said I'll See, you can smell.
Told you.
No, then believe me.
And then, of course, I went to my mom.
And my mom said, yeah, you're right, Sarah.
I don't ever remember you coming home.
Because my mom's a big baker.
So I don't ever remember you coming home and saying, that bread does smell really good.
So she brought me to the doctor and...
Sure enough, yep, I couldn't smell.
Oh, but also I love how you use smellerellas and your own unique skill, because that is something that makes you guys special and unique.
It could almost be a superpower.
It is.
There's definitely advantages to it.
I try to think of maybe some times when not being able to smell has been great.
For example, would be like I talked about Steak Arena.
She is rather...
Rather gassy.
So it is nice when you're at home with her and she maybe does a toot that you don't have to smell it.
Or, I'm sure, when you and your family go out and maybe you have to go to the bathroom, then you don't have to worry about all the stinky smells that are happening in the bathroom too.
Yes, exactly.
Never have to worry about anything stinky, so that's perfect.
That is something that sometimes I wish I had, too.
So what age did you find out that you couldn't smell?
I think I was about seven or eight is when I really realized, hey, how come I can't smell anything?
So pretty young age, right?
But still old enough to where you think I would have maybe realized that before then.
That is so cool.
So what would you like to tell other people that maybe have special and different things about them that maybe other people don't understand?
Yeah, so I would say that it's awesome being unique.
So it's actually one of the first things that when people ask me about, like hey, tell me a fun fact about you I will tell them that I can't smell, because that's something that's just so rare and so unique and it's actually a great conversation piece.
So I would say for all those kiddos maybe who do you feel different or have maybe different abilities, that it's that really makes you who you are and it's a really cool thing.
So always be happy with with the gifts you have, versus kind of wishing for other things.
I love it.
So if we want to see the awesome illustrations, where would we go?
Yes, our book is available on Amazon.
We have a paperback version and we also have a newly released ebook that is out there and it is free currently if you have Kindle Unlimited.
Wonderful.
Well, thank you so much, Sarah.
Is there anything else that you'd like to share with us today?
Nope, I'm good.
Asra, well, I hope to see you next time with another awesome smell-a-mill-a story.
Yay.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for having me.
Thanks.
Bye.
Bye.
Wow, that was an amazing story, right?
It was so interesting that Skunkerella couldn't smell.
I've never met anybody that couldn't smell, but it's important to know that there's a ton of people in the world and all of us are different.
So, oh, you know what time it is.
It's time to find out our co-creators.
Show us co-creators in the app.
Tell me, tell me.
Tap, tap, tap.
Hello, smartphone.
Tell us today.
Did all our friends have fun and play?
I hear my friends, Danny, Clara, and Margo had fun today.
Oh my goodness.
Won't you join me another day?
Thank you so much for joining me on Reading with Rella B.
I hope you enjoyed your time here just as much as I did, and I hope to see you next time.
Toodles!
