The+Bad+Case+of+Stripes

=__**A Bad Case of Stripes**__= by David Shannon

Basics:
Publisher/Year: Scholastic 2004 and Blue Sky Press, p1998, c1998 Ages: 4-8 Type: Picture book Length: 32 pages Categories: Popularity, Conformity, Self-Esteem, Self-Respect, Individuality

Main Character:
Camilla Cream

Reviews:
41/2 stars out of 5 Follett's Titlewave: []
 * See Amazon.com

**Reviews & Awards** 
 * Accelerated Reader**
 * ATOS Reading Level: 3.8 || Point Value: .5 ||
 * Interest Level: LG || Quiz: 27685EN ||
 * Wilson's Children 06/01/01 || Elementary School Library Collection 06/01/00 ||
 * School Library Journal 03/01/98 || Five Owls 05/01/98 ||
 * Book Links (A.L.A.) 02/01/03 || Booklist 01/01/98 ||
 * Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 03/01/98 || Library Talk 11/01/98 ||

Booklist (Vol. 94, No. 9/10 (January 1, 1998))
Ages 6-8. Camilla, who loves lima beans but won't eat them because it's not cool, finds that deferring to others isn't all it's cracked up to be. In fact, her desire to please and be popular causes her some spectacular problems: she suddenly breaks out in stripes, then stars, then turns "purple polka-dotty" at the behest of a delighted classmate. Her weird mutations, which stymie doctors and send the media into a frenzy, become more and more extreme until she finally blends into the walls of her room--her lips the red-blanketed mattress on her bed, her eyes the paintings on the wall. Will she never be herself again? Shannon's over-the-top art is sensational, an ingenious combination of the concrete and the fantastic that delivers more than enough punch to make up for the somewhat heavy hand behind the story, and as usual, his wonderfully stereotypic characters are unforgettable. The pictures are probably enough to attract young browsers (Camilla in brilliant stripped glory graces the jacket), and the book's irony and wealth of detail may even interest readers in higher grades. Try this for leading into a discussion on being different.

Horn Book (September, 1998)
A girl obsessed with what people think about her contracts an ailment that literally turns her into whatever anyone--classmates, doctors, etc.--decides she should be. The story is heavy-handed, but the girl's graphically depicted symptoms, from multicolored stripes to twigs and other spiny appendages protruding from her body, contribute to the dark comedy of the retro-style paintings.

Kirkus Review starred (1997)
Camilla Cream wants to fit in, so she conforms, denying herself the things she craves--lima beans, for example--if the other kids frown upon them. She wakes up one morning covered head to toe with party-colored stripes--not the state of affairs aspired to by a conventionalist, but it's only the beginning of her troubles. Her schoolmates call out designs and Camilla's skin reacts: polka dots, the American flag--"poor Camilla was changing faster than you could change channels on a T.V." Specialists are called in, as are experts, healers, herbalists, and gums. An environmental therapist suggests she "breathe deeply, and become one with your room." Camilla melts into the wall. It takes a little old lady with a handful of lima beans to set Camilla to rights. Shannon's story is a good poke in the eye of conformity--imaginative, vibrant, and at times good and spooky--and his emphatic, vivid artwork keeps perfect pace with the tale.

Publishers Weekly (July 19, 2004)
"Shannon juggles dark humor and an anti-peer-pressure message," said PW of this tale of a girl whose affliction causes her to change colors and shapes at others' commands-until she is cured by admitting the truth (she loves lima beans). Ages 3-up. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal (March 1998)
K-Gr 2--A highly original moral tale acquires mythic proportions when Camilla Cream worries too much about what others think of her and tries desperately to please everyone. First stripes, then stars and stripes, and finally anything anyone suggests (including tree limbs, feathers, and a tail) appear vividly all over her body. The solution: lima beans, loved by Camilla, but disdained for fear they'll promote unpopularity with her classmates. Shannon's exaggerated, surreal, full-color illustrations take advantage of shadow, light, and shifting perspective to show the girl's plight. Bordered pages barely contain the energy of the artwork; close-ups emphasize the remarkable characters that inhabit the tale. Sly humor lurks in the pictures, too. For example, in one double-page spread the Creams are besieged by the media including a crew from station WCKO. Despite probing by doctors and experts, it takes "an old woman who was just as plump and sweet as a strawberry" to help Camilla discover her true colors. Set in middle-class America, this very funny tale speaks to the challenge many kids face in choosing to act independently.--Carolyn Noah, Central Mass. Regional Library System, Worcester, MA

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Personal Recommendation:
A delightful story of a little girl afraid to be herself, who mysteriously contracts a condition in which she literally becomes whatever other people suggest: red, white and blue decor during the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, a pill bottle for overeager doctors, or a bizarre root-bound herb for the alternative medicine group. She becomes freed from conformism when she finally accepts who she is and speaks out for what she likes. A great parable of self-acceptance and the dangers of peer pressure, with hilarious illustrations. (C. Urquhart)

Links:
There are many different lessons in Teaching Books available through the SBISD Library Resources Page: [|**http://www.teachingbooks.net/search.cgi?searchtype=title&search=bad+case+of+stripes**] [] []

Book Reading: [|**http://www.storylineonline.net/stripes/story.swf**]

Additional Resource link: In looking for category information for this project, we discovered the following page which has great information about characteristics and books. []

Posted By:
compilation of pages by: JLim, SThomas, & Just Lisa; C. Urquhart; S. Malget