Customer Reviews

A Bad Case Of Stripes

5 star:		(105)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

This is a great read aloud for any age. I read it to my sixth graders and my third graders and both classes loved this book. David Shannon has done it again. In this book he teaches a lesson of knowing who we are and not following the crowd. The main character, Camilla Cream is worried about what to wear the first day of school, as she has so many friends to impress. After trying on forty-two outfits she looks in the mirror and screams. She has broken out with a bad case of stripes. This is a hillarious story of what Camilla has to go through with her case of stripes. Davis Shannon's illustrations add so much to the story. The cover itself will attract readers. I have decided that David Shannon is my new favorite author and illustrator. I highly recommend this book.

This book has passed the kids-test with flying colors in our household. My three children 4-7 pick it out of the hundreds of books they own or borrow time and time again. The illustration is colorful and funny. The story has enough realism to anchor it into a child's world but plenty of fantasy to make it adventurous and interesting. Best of all, the morale of the story, (that a child can be herself and doesn't need to suppress personality traits, likes and dislikes just to fit in) is conveyed in a compassionate and not at all preachy voice. It comes across even for a child in the targeted age range. A wonderful children's book.

It's the first day of school, and pre-pubescent Camille wants dearly to fit in with her schoolmates. She's so concerned, in fact, that she dare not tell them that she actually enjoys eating the ubiquitously hated lima bean--bane of the no-green-foods set. So you can imagine how conformity minded Camille feels when, for unknown reasons, her skin turns into a rainbow of striped colors extending from forehead to toes. If you can't imagine, author David Shannon informs us that her mother screams, and Camille is so afraid of what people will say that she is glad her mom is keeping her home from school. Aha, but not so fast! The aptly named Dr. Bumble, attuned only to physical symptoms and psychologically inept, OKs Camille for school.

As if stripes were bad enough, Camille discovers that her skin color responds to voice commands from the other kids, who color her in unusual patterns and colors. So much for blending in with the crowd! Worse yet, when a collection of similarly unsympathetic "expert" doctors prescribe medicine and describe bacteria and viruses, Camille's head turns into a gumball machine of pills, and giant, colored worm-like bugs attach themselves to her. She looks fascinatingly grotesque, morphing into a colorful but mostly unrecognizable collage of bacteria, roots, berries, feathers, abstract designs, feathers, and even a tail. Eventually, her whole face is relocated into various parts of her bedroom (hung pictures are her eyes; the couch is her mouth).

So, what's the point of this Dali-esque imagery, and who's going to like it? First, let's look at the resolution: A winking elderly woman feeds Camille some lima beans through her couch-mouth, and Camille's acceptance of her secret food love returns her to her pre-striped self. The theory goes like this: Embrace your feelings, no matter how unpopular they may be, and the real you will emerge. It's a good, if facile message: Probably too simple for older kids and perhaps too subtle for some of the younger ones.

Adults and teens will appreciate Shannon's bold and imaginative creativity, and older or more mature kids may be enthralled by the skillfully depicted and dramatic bodily changes. However, elements of this fantasy could be disturb some children, depending perhaps (and I claim no expertise here) on their sense of security, boundaries, suggestibility, and recognition of fantasy. There's a yellow flag here, buyers should be aware of the young audience's capacity to view all this with a healthy detachment, and a sense that it's all pretend. This seems particularly relevant when doctors--for many a trusted authority figure--as well as young friends apparently exert such control over Camille's appearance. There's no question that Shannon is an incredibly talented illustrator and crafty storyteller, but this book could elicit a variety of reactions (especially from younger kids), and adults should try to gauge the likely emotional response from their audience.

Here on Amazon it says the age range for this book is 4-8 but I would strongly reconsider giving this book to a four year old. They read this book in my daughter's preschool, and she cried for an hour at home because she was so scared. She is almost five. The illustrations are very graphic, and looked a little creepy. I'm sure the overall message is good, and apparently other kids love it, but we won't be buying this one in our house!

Well, I was cruising through the library stacks, looking for the author of "No, David!" (another outstanding book) when I came across this piece of magic. The illustrations are works of art, the writing is tight and lyrical, the dialogue is beyond what you would expect to find in writing for "mere children." Cross "Madeline" with Roald Dahl and you've got an idea of what you're in store for!

The story, if you haven't gleaned it from other reviews, is that Camilla has decided to be untrue to herself by denying herself her one great love in life - lima beans by the steaming plateful. As a result of the obvious internal angst over her leguminous desire and her need to do what she perceives as cool, her body rebels and does the most uncool thing of all - it covers itself in a rainbow of stripes. Things get worse when Camilla is allowed by the family doctor to go to school - the stripes start shifting colors and shapes at the whim of the other students. Eventually, she is forced to stay home, thanks to the voiced concerns of frightened parents. The final showdown comes as pandemonium erupts when the local television stations discover this oddity in their town.

This book will charm children of all ages - my ten-year-old couldn't believe what she was hearing from her sister's bedroom as I read it aloud before bedtime. Grab this book and embrace it as the treasure it is.

This book was read to my daughter in Kindergarten. She cried for many days and was afraid of everything. It took a couple of weeks for her to go back to normal. She is now 6 years old and in 1st grade. The book was read to hear again about three weeks ago and we are going throught the same fear that she had before. She has never acted this way and she is never afraid of anything except this book. The story of the book is not bad but the graphics are NOT appropriate for little children.

I would like to get my hands on the illustrator of this book - or the publisher who allowed it to be printed.

This book was read to my 4-yr old daughter when she was applying for kindergarten. Prior to reading this book she slept through the night in her own room without any trouble. After reading this book she could not sleep through the night for 3 months, 3 months of crying, fear, and running into our room. It took one week of this for her to even be able to explain the fear.

My daughter is now in 3rd grade and every year her teacher brings this book out. Even as an 8-year old she is afraid to go to school because the book is out on the shelf. She cries herself to sleep, wakes up in the middle of the night and runs for our room. We can't wait for the rotation of this book to stop.

PS: My sons are fine with the book and the other 59 children in my daughter's grade seem to be fine with it. My daughter plays ice hockey, skis black runs, and although we censor moview she has seen such things as the Wizard of Oz, Pirates of the Caribbean, Scooby-doo etc. This book is the only thing that scares her.

I am not saying that your child will react the way that mine did, but judging from the reviews some children really find the illustrations and the concepts troubling.

The grown-ups at our house love this book as much as the kids do. The concept (see editorial reviews) is funny enough, add the great illistrations and you just can't beat it. Plus the cure for the stripes is to stop following the crowd and be yourself. Perfect book for lower elementary age, with appeal for all ages.

Camilla loves lima beans, but won't eat them because no other children like them. One day she wakes up with bright stripes across her face. From then on she turns into anything she eats or talks about. She then learns to deal with being different and made fun of by her classmates, until a old lady comes and gives her lima beans to eat. When she returns to normal Camilla decides that she doesn't care what anyone thinks and eats all the lima beans she wants.

The cover design really sets this book off. The colorful stripes and big words attract children to read this story. The author gives a unique story to help children understand that different is not bad. The characters are very stereotypical in a funny way. For example when talking with the doctors, "Then the specialist went to work on Camilla. They squeezed and jabbed, tapped and tested." The detail and description in this story is excellent and the illustrations along with the character development go together to make a hilarious yet "deep" story plot.

This book is written for transitional and fluent readers, but children of all ages would enjoy this story. This story could be used when discussing differences and doing what is right. Teachers could use it when working on writing with detail.

This book is creepy. It scared my daughter and even made me feel uncomfortable as I was reading it. We picked it up at the library. I really wish we'd read the reviews here before we read it.