A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon

My roommate’s copy of A Bad Case of Stripes, with free cover stickers!!!

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Children’s lit

Medium: Paperback

Synopsis: Camilla Cream likes lima beans.  But nobody else does.  So she stops eating them, and breaks out into a bad case of stripes.

Review: I was so glad to reread this book.  I’d read it as a child, and remembered it as sortof a fever dream that I both enjoyed and felt repulsed by.  I had the same feeling as an adult.  David Shannon is an incredible storyteller, and did an amazing job narrating the story of somebody who faces peer pressure and who faces its consequences.  His illustrations here are hugely realistic, and hardly resemble any of the other books of his I’ve seen this year.  This book is a true testament to his talent.

This book is truthful.  This book is disturbing.  It’s so disturbing.  I wrote a bit about a particular image in this book for a project solely because I could remember how disturbed I felt upon seeing it…as a child.  You all probably know the one.  Where she’s sitting on a chair and she’s sprouted stripes, a tale, gems, feathers, branches, berries, and who knows what else.  It’s.  So.  Disturbing.  I love it.  I hate it.  It’s so good.  Honestly, I don’t think there’s been anything else out there that disturbs me on a level like Shannon’s illustrations in this book does, so that’s saying something.

Also, that’s not meant to be a down-side or a con to this review.  It’s definitely a plus.  This whole book is a plus.  Though I have to say, this book is not for the light-hearted.

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