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Scratch-and-sniff books turn reading time into something a toddler will actually sit still for, and the format covers far more ground than the gross-out novelty titles it’s known for. There are 1970s Golden Book classics that are still in print, licensed board books with sound buttons, genuinely educational scent-and-learning titles, and yes, an entire sub-genre devoted to farts. These are the ones worth buying, sorted by who they’re actually for.
| # | Product | Price | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Garden Picnic: A Scratch-and-Sniff Book | $10-$15 | Amazon · eBay |
| 2 | The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia M. Scarry | $10-$16 | Amazon · eBay |
| 3 | Little Bunny Follows His Nose by Katherine Howard | $8-$14 | Amazon · eBay |
| 4 | My First Book of Smells and Colours: Garden | $10-$16 | Amazon · eBay |
| 5 | Baby Einstein: Follow Your Nose! Scratch & Sniff Sound Book | $14-$22 | Amazon · eBay |
| 6 | Peppa Pig: Peppa Loves Fruit Scratch & Sniff Sound Book | $14-$22 | Amazon · eBay |
| 7 | Scratch and Sniff: Food by DK | $8-$20 (used) | Amazon · eBay |
| 8 | Smelly Old History series by Mary Dobson | $8-$16 per title | Amazon · eBay |
| 9 | Nella the Princess Knight Scratch and Sniff Book | $8-$14 | Amazon · eBay |
| 10 | Farmyard Farts | $10-$16 | Amazon · eBay |
| 11 | The Scratch and Sniff Fart Book by Buddy & Barney | $10-$16 | Amazon · eBay |
| 12 | The Truly Tasteless Scratch & Sniff Book by Andrew Donkin | $10-$28 (used) | Amazon · eBay |
The picks, in detail
The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Garden Picnic: A Scratch-and-Sniff Book
Eric Carle’s classic caterpillar, rebuilt as a scratch-and-sniff board book with six scents spread across the picnic spread.
- Six scratch-and-sniff scents
- Eric Carle’s original collage artwork
- Sturdy board-book pages
- Part of The World of Eric Carle range
- The safest gift on this list — almost every household already loves the character
- Board construction survives toddlers who scratch hard
- Short, so older preschoolers finish it fast
The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia M. Scarry
The 1970 Golden Book that popularised the whole format, still in print and still using six holiday scents to carry the story.
- Six scents: gingerbread, apple pie, hot chocolate, orange, candy cane, pine
- Illustrated by J. P. Miller
- Originally published 1970, reissued by Random House
- Hardcover Scented Storybook edition
- Genuine nostalgia buy — a lot of parents remember this one themselves
- The scents are tied to story moments rather than bolted on
- Seasonal, so it goes back on the shelf in January
Little Bunny Follows His Nose by Katherine Howard
The other 1971 Golden Book survivor — a bunny tracks scents down a hill, through a forest and into a vegetable garden.
- Six scents including rose, strawberry jam, pine needles, peach and dill pickle
- Illustrated by J. P. Miller
- Book 2 of the Scented Storybook series
- In print since 1971
- Year-round alternative to the Christmas title from the same series
- Scent variety is unusually good — dill pickle gets a reaction every time
- Artwork reads as distinctly vintage, which not every kid connects with
My First Book of Smells and Colours: Garden
An educational scratch-and-sniff book pairing real garden scents — herbs, flowers, produce — with early colour learning.
- Authentic herb, flower and vegetable scents
- Combines scent exploration with colour recognition
- Clean, high-contrast design aimed at young children
- Genuinely educational rather than pure novelty
- Real scents (rose, lavender, mint, strawberry) instead of gag smells
- Less immediately funny than the humour titles, so a silly-minded kid may not pick it up unprompted
Baby Einstein: Follow Your Nose! Scratch & Sniff Sound Book
A multi-sensory board book from PI Kids that adds five sound buttons on top of six scents — lilies, apples, pine trees and more.
- 6 scents plus 5 sound buttons
- Battery included
- 12-page board book format
- Published 2023
- Sound plus scent holds a very young child’s attention longer than scent alone
- Built for the under-3 crowd the other titles aren’t quite aimed at
- Batteries eventually die and the compartment isn’t always replaceable
- Noisier than any parent expects at 7am
Peppa Pig: Peppa Loves Fruit Scratch & Sniff Sound Book
Same PI Kids sound-book format, wrapped around a character your kid is likely already obsessed with — apples, bananas and other fruit scents.
- 6 fruit scents and 5 sounds
- Licensed Peppa Pig tie-in
- Board book with battery included
- Companion title: Peppa Pig Let’s Shop!
- Licensed familiarity means it gets read far more often than a generic title
- Fruit scents are pleasant rather than novelty-gross
- Only worth it if the Peppa phase is already underway
Scratch and Sniff: Food by DK
DK’s photographic board book — scratch the pictures of bananas, pizza, oranges, chocolate and strawberries to smell them.
- Real photography rather than illustration
- Food scents: banana, pizza, orange, chocolate, strawberry
- Board book aimed at toddlers
- Part of a series with Garden, Christmas and Halloween titles
- Reviewers consistently report the scents surviving for years
- Photo-realistic images make the scent-to-object link obvious for toddlers
- Out of print, so you’re buying used and condition varies
Smelly Old History series by Mary Dobson
An educational history series — Victorian Vapours, Roman Aromas, Medieval Muck and more — that uses period-appropriate smells to teach the era.
- Multiple titles across different historical periods
- Real history content paired with era-appropriate scents
- Written by children’s history author Mary Dobson
- Oxford University Press
- The rare scratch-and-sniff format that works for elementary-age readers
- Collectible across eras, so it keeps a kid engaged past one book
- Too text-heavy for toddlers
- Some titles are harder to find new
Nella the Princess Knight Scratch and Sniff Book
A Nickelodeon tie-in where Princess-Knight Nella smells her way through an adventure, with scents built into the story beats.
- Licensed Nickelodeon character tie-in
- Story-integrated scratch-and-sniff moments
- Adventure narrative rather than a concept book
- Story-driven instead of pure gross-out humour
- Strong pick if your kid already watches the show
- Appeal narrows sharply if they don’t know the character
Farmyard Farts
A lift-the-flap ‘guess who did the smelliest fart’ game with six authentic farm-animal scents. Exactly what it sounds like.
- Lift-the-flap interactive pages
- Six scratch-and-sniff scents
- Farm animal theme
- Board book construction
- Enormous hit with kids in the gross-out humour phase
- Flaps add replay value beyond the scents themselves
- Purely novelty — there’s no educational angle here at all
The Scratch and Sniff Fart Book by Buddy & Barney
A rhyming scratch-and-sniff adventure across six scents — honey, candy, eucalyptus and other less pleasant surprises.
- Rhyming read-aloud story format
- Six scratch-and-sniff scents
- Board book durability
- Popular gift-book format
- The rhyme scheme makes it genuinely fun to read aloud
- Reliable birthday-party gift for the 4-7 bracket
- Occupies the same novelty niche as Farmyard Farts — buy one, not both
The Truly Tasteless Scratch & Sniff Book by Andrew Donkin
The adult-humour entry — revolting rhymes paired with smelly feet, sour milk, rotten fish and skunk. Aimed squarely at teenagers and gag-gift buyers.
- Deliberately offensive scent selection
- Rhyming comic verse
- Hardcover format
- A gag gift, not a children’s book
- The only title here written for teens and adults
- Reliably gets a reaction as a white-elephant or stocking gift
- Out of print — used copies only, and prices swing
- Genuinely unpleasant scents; not for young children
Buying tips
- For toddlers under three, stick to board-book construction (The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Garden Picnic, DK’s Scratch and Sniff: Food, Farmyard Farts). Paper pages don’t survive enthusiastic scratching.
- Sound books like the Baby Einstein and Peppa Pig titles hold attention longest with the youngest kids, but check whether the battery compartment is replaceable before you buy — many aren’t.
- The scent microcapsules are finite. They’re rated for hundreds of scratches, not thousands, and older stock loses potency on the shelf, so a heavily discounted copy may already be faded.
- Buying a vintage title used? Ask about scent condition specifically. A 1970s copy of The Sweet Smell of Christmas in mint condition still smells; a well-loved one often doesn’t.
- If your child is already attached to a franchise, the licensed tie-in gets read several times more often than a generic book with better scents. Familiarity beats novelty here.
- For elementary-age kids who’ve outgrown fart jokes, the Smelly Old History series is the one title that keeps the format age-appropriate.
- Store them flat and out of direct sunlight. Heat degrades the scent capsules faster than use does.
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