Attaboy, Sam! — Lois Lowry

Sam Krupnik is at it again. This time he wants to make a special surprise perfume for his mother's birthday. First he has to collect his mother's favorite smells in Ziploc bags. He uses an old grape juice bottle to hold everything from chicken soup to his father's pipe to a poop-smelling tissue from a baby's room.

Sam stashes all the smells in his toybox and won't let his mother into his room. It's really starting to stink in there. Still, Sam can't wait for his mother to see and smell her birthday surprise. But Mrs. Krupnik isn't the only one who is in for a surprise.