Spurred by a newfound awareness of false advertising, Stink Moody becomes the proverbial kid in a candy store as his letter-writing campaign yields him heaps of free rewards.

When Stink buys a mammoth jawbreaker that doesn't break his jaw, he writes a letter of complaint to the manufacturer — and receives a ten-pound box of 21,280 jawbreakers for his trouble! This unexpected benefit of acing the art of letter-writing in school sure gets Stink thinking. Soon Stink is so preoccupied with getting free stuff sent to him that he overlooks a scribbly envelope in the mail pile — until his best friend, Webster, starts acting standoffish and looks as mad as a hornet.

In this hilarious episode from Megan McDonald and Peter H. Reynolds, Judy Moody's shorter sibling truly comes into his own. As a delightful bonus for both teachers and kids, thirty-six common idioms — from "two heads are better than one" to "a leopard can’t change its spots" — are sprinkled throughout the story; seven of the idioms are humorously illustrated by Stink, and all are listed at the end to inspire a search for idioms that’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

Stink puts his letter writing skills to the test when he complains about a jawbreaker that did not break his jaw - with surprising results. He gets sent a huge box full of sweets! But he's so intent on getting freebies that he forgets his best friend's birthday. No wonder Webster's stopped speaking to him. Stink puts things right when, with some help from his Dad, he surprises his class with a pinata using all the free sweets - and decides that while freebies are good, friends are even better!


史汀克決定測試一下自己的書信寫作能力，他想寫信投訴，因為他買的「下巴脫臼糖」並沒讓他的下巴脫臼。不過這卻讓他得到了一個意外的驚喜──滿滿一大盒的甜點！但因為他一心一意都在想要如何得到免費的禮物，反而忘了好朋友的生日，這也難怪韋伯不再與他說話了。但史汀克決定找爸爸幫忙，將得到的甜點全裝入皮納塔，並帶去班上給同學一個大驚喜，總算讓韋伯原諒了他。於是，史汀克學到了一課：免費的禮物固然好，但朋友更好！