The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales [Hardcover]

Jon Scieszka (Author), Lane Smith (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Caldecott Honor Book

Looks at some really stupid tales including "Chicken Licken", "The Princess and the Bowling Ball", "The Really Ugly Duckling" and "Jack's Bean Problem".

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If geese had graves, Mother Goose would be rolling in hers. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales retells--and wreaks havoc on--the allegories we all thought we knew by heart. In these irreverent variations on well-known themes, the ugly duckling grows up to be an ugly duck, and the princess who kisses the frog wins only a mouthful of amphibian slime. The Stinky Cheese Man deconstructs not only the tradition of the fairy tale but also the entire notion of a book. Our naughty narrator, Jack, makes a mockery of the title page, the table of contents, and even the endpaper by shuffling, scoffing, and generally paying no mind to structure. Characters slide in and out of tales; Cinderella rebuffs Rumpelstiltskin, and the Giant at the top of the beanstalk snacks on the Little Red Hen. There are no lessons to be learned or morals to take to heart--just good, sarcastic fun that smart-alecks of all ages will love.

From Publishers Weekly

Grade-school irreverence abounds in this compendium of (extremely brief) fractured fairy tales, which might well be subtitled "All Things Gross and Giddy." With a relentless application of the sarcasm that tickled readers of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs , Scieszka and Smith skewer a host of juvenile favorites: Little Red Running Shorts beats the wolf to grandmother's house; the Really Ugly Duckling matures into a Really Ugly Duck; Cinderumpelstiltskin is "a girl who really blew it." Text and art work together for maximum comic impact--varying styles and sizes of type add to the illustrations' chaos, as when Chicken Licken discovers that the Table of Contents, and not the sky, is falling. Smith's art, in fact, expands upon his previous waggery to include increased interplay between characters, and even more of his intricate detail work. The collaborators' hijinks are evident in every aspect of the book, from endpapers to copyright notice. However, the zaniness and deadpan delivery that have distinguished their previous work may strike some as overdone here. This book's tone is often frenzied; its rather specialized humor, delivered with the rapid-fire pacing of a string of one-liners, at times seems almost mean-spirited. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; 1ST edition (October 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067084487X
• ISBN-13: 978-0670844876
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (197 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Anthologies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still is One of My Favorites......Even Today!!!, August 22, 2002

By 

Michael Crane (Orland Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (Hardcover)

Hey, I may be in college, but this was a book I read all the time when I was little. I'm currently taking Children's Lit, which requires me reading 70 children's books. I found this one burried in my room, forgetting that I still owned it. I read it, and it still made me laugh. "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales" is one entertaining book.

It's some of your favorite fairy tales.....except told in parody form. They're hillarious. My favorites are "Jack's Bean Problem," "Little Red Running Shorts," "Chicken Licken," and "The Really Ugly Duckling." But they're all very funny. The Little Red Hen will crack you up as she blabbers on about how no one is helping her and how horrible this book is.
The book is by Jon Scieszka and is illustrated by Lane Smith.

It doesn't matter how old you are, this is one of the funniest children's book I have ever read. Fun for all ages. Great writing and pictures. Have a look whenever you can. I'm sure you will not regret it.

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I want to hoard this book (IT'S MINE!), September 2, 2002

By 

Joel L. Gandelman (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Stinky Cheese Man 10th Anniversary (Viking Kestrel Picture Books) (Hardcover)

GREAT! What other word can possibly come to mind reading The Stinky Cheese Man? I originally bought this book for my niece and nephew, Kayla and Greg. But before I gave it to them I read it myself and I simply could not stop laughing.

The best way to describe this to parents and adults is: it's a combination of Rocky and Bullwinkle (working on two humor levels), Mad Magazine, Mother Goose, and absolute literary anarchy. If you're an adult and have any sense of humor whatsoever you're going to laugh out loud. The best way to describe this to parents is to quote Greg, 10, who, upon being told he'd get this book said: "GREAT! It has those funny stories and those crazy drawings. I love it!!"

How did author Jon Scieszka and illustrator hit on a book that truly appeals to ALL ages? The book is a parody, moving visually and in its text as fast as a guided missle, but never for one millisecond underestimating the intelligence of its kid -- or adult -- readership. My Special 10 Year Anniversary Edition of this book contained a "Long Lost Stupid Fairy Tale" printed under the cover, the Boy Who Cried Cow Patty, a take off of the boy who cried "Wolf." (There is a less kid friendly version of this great story circulating on the internet).

Once you open the book (and I will not give it all away) you are immediately comedically clobbered with the Little Red Hen, who can't wait until the title page is seen to start her story and is upset with the management. Fonts, page layout, are all satirized or exploited for maximum laughs. Any kid who has ever had a fairy tale read to him/her and looked at a typical fairy tale book will get the visual joke immediately. So this book is not only a book they can read but a book that will make them WANT to read MORE...and see that reading can truly be FUN.

But it's the screamingly funny text and outrageously zany illustrations that have made this book a (well-deserved) legend. Even though it contains the alleged Surgeon General's stamp-disclaimer warning that it "has been determined that these tales are fairly stupid and probably dangerous to your health" these nutty stories are anything but dangerous. The bottom line is that they're comedy-parodies that make all ages think, but don't require a degree to get the joke. The book succeeds from its bonus tale printed under its book cover to its final silly page.

Tales include Chicken Licken with its great ending (comedy coach Greg Dean writes that comedy is a "shattered assumption" and that's what we get here and it's FUN); The Princess and the Bowling Ball (take off on the Princess and the Pea); The Really Ugly Duckling (probably a truer version of this tale than has ever appeared before); the Other Frog Prince (the frog wants a kiss...but what is he??); Little Red Running Shorts; Jack's Bean Problem, Cinderumpelstiltskin; the Tortoise and the Hair; and the absolute all time classic The Stinky Cheese Man, a superb satire of the Gingerbread man with a laugh-out-loud ending.

This book SHOULD be titled "The Stinkey Cheese Man and Other Absolutely Hilarious Witty Tales." If you like satire/parody and want your kids (or you) to read an upscale Mad-type take off on fairy tales, this book is for YEW! Now my only problem is: where can I HIDE this book after the kids read it, so I can keep it for myself???

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Irresistable!, July 10, 2000

By 

"saj888" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (Hardcover)

So it's not the best role model for kids, making fun of something. But this book will have you laughing at every page. Jack, the narrator, makes everything into a joke, from the title page to the end paper. The stories are the humerous version of classic fairy tales, like "The Stinky Cheese Man" and "Little Red Running Shorts" These are the greatest stories to read out loud, and will have your listener and yourself rolling with laughter. It will have even the person who hates to read reading it. It really catches your attention. It is by far a classic book of tales. The writer is very good at making you laugh. I recommend this to people of ALL ages.