Tom Wheeler

Raising a Stink Tom Wheeler

Fourteen-year-old Sassafras Grove (everyone calls him Sass) has gotten into a routine of staying up late at night and sleeping until noon. With school starting soon, it was a habit he knew he would have to break. One night, long after everyone else was in bed, Sass acts on a moment of bad judgement when he decides to chase a "cat" out of the garbage. That ends with very smelly consequences. Sass' traumatic experience leads him, along with his best friend Munchie, to adopt a family of orphaned skunk babies. But there's a problem. It's expensive to raise animals, with feeding and visits to the vet, and even more so with fully operational skunks. Sass and his dad have struck a deal. He has one week to come up with the money to take care of the skunks or give up his new pets. Together, Sass and Munchie hatch a scheme to get all the cash they need, and a little extra, in one night's work. That turns out to be a much more harrowing experience than anyone thought. In the end, who knew that having skunks for pets would prove to be a huge benefit? Follow along on this fast-paced, nose-wrenching adventure with Sass, Munchie, and their striped bundles of fun.