Suzanne Selfors: Smells Like Treasure

This page contains stuff about Smells Like Treasure, the sequel to Smells Like Dog.

• About the Book

• Reviews and Accolades

• Photo Bulletin Board

• Letters from Readers

• Ordering Info

About the Book
When Homer Pudding receives a mysterious note emblazoned with the letters L.O.S.T., he knows the moment he has been waiting for has arrived. It is time to meet the Society of Legends, Objects, Secrets, and Treasures and become a true adventurer.
With his best friends, Dog, at his side, everything seems to be going as planned...until an unexpected opponent challenges Homer's spot. They're both tasked with a dangerous quest, and only the one who solves the clues and reaches the treasure first will be given membership.

From the sleepy goat fields of Milkydale to fantastical mansions and hidden islands, Homer and Dog are off on another page-turning adventure!

Animated avatars created by students in Diane Hallisey's class at Plymouth River School, MA
(Requires Adobe Flash Player)

Zelda

Lorelei

Hercules

Reviews and Accolades

A funny, suspensful adventure that stretches the borders of readers' imaginations. A heartwarming and quirky cast of characters adds to the fun. Rumpold Smeller's tale is woven throughout Homer's, a story-within-a-story with its own delightful surprise ending. Homer and Dog are a strange, silly, and lovable duo."
-- School Library Journal, starred review

"Homer Pudding and Dog are back. This tale starts off right where Smells Like Dog ended. Homer is on the family goat farm preparing to enjoy the Milkydale County Fair when he receives a missive from L.O.S.T. (Society of Legends, Objects,Secrets and Treasures) announcing that he is to become a member and take hisdead uncle’s place as a treasure hunter. Fun, disasters, quests, and peril ensue as Homer has to win a challenge, issued by Lorelei, to officially become a member of L.O.S.T. Dog is at Homer’s side through it all, well, except when he is “borrowed.”
The characters are bizarre—an eight-foot woman, a boy afraid of everything who is amazingly strong but does not want anyone to know, college students who have chariots races—yet they all have qualities to which the reader can relate. Zelda, the eight-foot woman, feels much sadness because of her size. Hercules only wants to win the World Spelling Bee a second time; he does not want his family to know he is strong because they will make him play a contact sport and he believes brains are better than brawn. Such quirks in characterization make the book fun, while the realistic characteristics keep one reading. Enough details of the earlier book appear to refresh readers’ memories in this satisfying sequel. The suspense of the challenge will keep readers turning the pages. Fans will love Homer and Dog’s return."
-- VOYA: August 2011, Smells like Treasure

10 out of 10 stars
"It is the perfect balance of humor, peril, sadness, excitement and adventure. When someone betrays Homer, you feel for him, and it makes you want to fight for him. The best part about it (okay, maybe not the best part) is that the story is about a dog, and the dog lives to see another adventure! The dog is not shot or attacked by a mountain lion. It never develops a crazy disease; yet the story leaves you with a satisfaction equal, if not superior, to that of a story that demonstrates the circle of life. Take that, Where the Red Fern Grows.
-- Time Magazine's Time For Kids

It has been three months since Homer Winslow Pudding (Smells Like Dog, 2010) discovered the meaning of the initials L.O.S.T. and learned the truth about his treasure-sniffing pooch Dog. Homer and Dog are off on another adventure when the boy receives a letter that says, “Your time has come.” The vague message could only mean one thing: that finally the secret society of L.O.S.T. (Legends, Objects, Secrets, and Treasures) is offering Homer the chance to take the seat of his beloved treasure-hunting uncle, Drake Pudding, and become a professional treasure hunter. Familiar characters make an appearance, including the giant Zelda and pink-haired Lorelei, who challenges Homer for Drake’s chair. Lorelei and Homer are given a challenge that, if Homer loses, will change the course of his life forever. The author weaves in enough details of the earlier book to refresh readers’ memories in this droll, satisfying sequel. The suspense of the challenge—will Homer's knowledge of maps and treasure huntingenable him to best Lorelei?—will keep readers turning the pages. The truth about the great treasure hunter Rumpold Smeller, whose treasure Uncle Drake spent his life looking for, is revealed in alternating chapters. There is plenty of rip-roaring fun here; fans will applaud Homer and Dog's return.
-- Kirkus Reviews

"Quirky characters and over-the-top humor"
-- Booklist

"A truly fun read."
-- Seattle's Child Magazine