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.

The Midas Touch

Title: The Midas Touch

Author: Jan Mark

Illustrator: Juan Wijngaard 
Traditional Literature #3

As a child I remember either hearing about, reading about, or seeing a rendition of this old tale so this was a trip down memory lane for me. In this rendition of the story there were little to no differences from what I originally remember happening. In the beginning, a centaur has fallen asleep in King Midas’s vineyard and his workers have decided to tie him up for fun. Appalled by their actions, King Midas frees the creature. Luckily for him, the god Dionysus is watching and offers to reward him for his good deed by letting him make one wish. Being the foolish man he is, Midas asks that everything he touches be turned to gold. This poses quite a problem when the clothes he wears, the bed he sleeps in, the ground he walks on, and the food he attempts to eat all turn to gold! Within a few days of his wish being granted, Midas is starving and wishing he had never asked for such a thing! Thankfully, Midas locates Dionysus and asks that his wish be revoked and, because his original intent was to reward and not punish him, Dionysus agrees. 

I remember this story kind of scaring me when I was little because I imagined not being able to eat and choking on gold food and how terrible it would be. Because of this, I’m not sure if I would use this story with younger children. However, I do think the book would work nicely for students aged 3^rd to 5^th grade. I love the illustrations and mosaics used. The are beautiful to look at. I also like how the story has the all-important “you should be careful what you wish for” meaning and the overall idea that the grass is not always greener on the other side. You may think things would be better if things were a certain way but that is not always the case and that is an important concept for students to learn particularly at the age level that I mentioned. In the end, this is a great book I will be sure to include in my own library.

Strega Nona

Title: Strega Nona

Author: Tomie de Paola 
Traditional Literature #2

In the story, Strega Nona is presented as being a medicine woman for the town. As she ages, she decides she needs help and enlists Big Anthony to be this person. In return, Strega Nona offers to feed him and give him a place to sleep. Quite a good deal if you ask me! There is only one condition to their little arrangement; Big Anthony must never touch her pasta pot! One day while working, however, he overhears Strega Nona magically using the pot to produce pasta. When she leaves town for awhile he steals the pot despite her warning and attempts to feed the entire village. The only problem is he doesn’t know how to stop it! Can Strega Nona get back in time to save the day? 

I had never heard of this book or story until being introduced to it in my children’s literature class and apparently it is as well-known as Hansel and Gretel! One thing I liked about this rendition of the story right off the bat was the illustrations. I had a hard time pulling myself away from them and actually focusing on the text. In fact, they tell the story so well that I think struggling readers would benefit greatly from independently reading this text. As I was reading, I also wondered where this story originated from? It seems to have Italian roots. I know that “nonna” in Italian means grandmother and I also noticed that “grazie” was used which means thank you. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the story very much simply because it encompassed the all-important “you should listen to your elders when they tell you not to do something” aspect.

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

Title: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale  

Author: John Steptoe 

Traditional Literature #1

According to the foreword in the book, Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters was inspired by a real African folktale. The story is about a man named Mufaro who lives in a small village in Africa with his two beautiful daughters, Manyara and Nyasha.  While Nyasha is kind, hardworking, and honest Manyara is selfish, jealous, and cruel. However, she is only acts this way in the absence of her father. When the Great King wants a wife Mufaro decides to send both of his daughters for him to see. However, Manyara decides to take manners into her own hands and leave for the city where the King lives deep into the night. She comes across several people who need help but refuses to offer them assistance because they are unworthy of her as she believes she is to become the next Queen. Meanwhile, Nyasha and her father set out towards the city to meet the King. Along the way, Nyasha runs into the same people in need of help and offers her assistance without hesitation. Come to find out, the Great King is a shape shifter who posed as the people in the forest in need of help. Guess which daughter he decides to marry? 

I personally enjoyed this book very much. The illustrations are beautiful and add to the story greatly. Children could spend several minutes just taking in what the pictures have to offer.The tale itself was new to me but reminded me of Cinderella. To me, the moral of the story is that being mean and nasty doesn’t get you anywhere. Nice guys do not finish last and in fact they are always rewarded for their efforts in the end. I would definitely include this traditional literature piece in my classroom not only because it is multicultural, but because it offers a great lesson for any child to learn. I could see this book as being a great read aloud story during a unit about fairytales and comparing them cross culturally. It is always good for children to see how other cultures interpret classic tales such as this.