A Bad Case of the Stripes

Title: A Bad Case of the Stripes 

Author: David Shannon 

Sci-Fi/Fantasy #3 

A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon is about a young girl named Camilla Cream who wakes up one day with stripes on her skin. After being examined by a doctor, Camilla goes to school. As she finds out, her condition is much worse than she thought! During the Pledge of Allegiance her stripes turn into red, white, and blue with stars. Camilla is sent home and a whole host of specialists visit her but no one is able to pinpoint the source of the problem. In the end, Camilla finds out she is sick because she is denying the truth. She loves lima beans but won’t admit it in front of people at school. It takes a special old lady to remind Camilla to always be true to herself.

I personally really enjoyed this book. The illustrations were very colorful and intriguing, I loved looking at the wacky images of Camilla David Shannon created. I also enjoyed the underlying message the book had. It is important to remind children to remain true to themselves no matter what. They shouldn’t change for anyone and should aim to please themselves above all else. This is a difficult concept for students to learn that I thought was presented in a funny way. There are many fun follow up activities I can see being used with this book. I would recommend it to teachers for their classroom library.