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A Bad Case of Stripes

Page history last edited by Kelsey Denczek 13 years, 3 months ago

 

Plot Summary

     

     A Bad Case of Stripes is written and illustrated by David Shannon.  This book is a picture book for children and the illustrations are just as important as the text. I would place A Bad Case of Stripes in the fiction and fantasy genre, but it also has aspects of reality mixed within the plot and illustrations. For example, Camilla Cream looks like an average elementary aged student with realistic looking parents, home and school. She worries about fitting in with kids her age. These are aspects that give the story a grounding aspect that the reader can relate to. The fantasy aspect comes in when Camilla starts turning colors and having an illness referred to as the “stripes”. Obviously there is no such disease that turns one different colors and patterns or into rooms or into a huge pill. The blend of fantasy and reality make the story really successful and entertaining.     

     In this book, Camilla Cream is extremely worried about fitting in.  She doesn't know what to wear on the first day of school, because she is afraid of being judged by the other kids in her school. Therefore she tries on 42 different outfits of all colors and patterns. She absolutely loves to eat lima beans but refuses to eat any because everyone else thinks they are gross and she doesn’t want to be considered weird to her classmates. She looks in the mirror before school, and suddenly has different colored stripes all over her body.  Of course she can’t go to school now because surely being different colors is far from fitting in with other students. Her parents enlist several doctors to find the cause and cure for this odd illness which just leads to more and more problems from giant pills to a room with a face. Eventually the cure for Camilla’s ailment is from an unlikely source and one that Camilla both loves and hates. 

 

 

 

 

 

     The principal eventually gets involved by sending Camilla out of her school because she is a distraction to the other students. All the experts take turns in trying to diagnose and remedy the poor little girl.  There is an older grandmotherly women at the end of the story who comes up with an unlikely and simple cure.
 

 

Literary Elements

 

     The setting of the story isn't ever specifically stated. By this there is not a name of a town or state, fiction or not, mentioned in the book. This could be to add some kind of anonymity so it is easy for a reader to connect with the story on a personal level because the story could be in their own town. The story begins in Camilla's home in her room, and then goes to her schoolhouse. It then ventures back into her bedroom until the end of the story. The area in which the story takes place in seems to be classic small town America where Camilla lives in what looks like a tree filled suburban community. 

     Camilla Cream is the main character and she looks like a typical young girl with fears and insecurities about fitting in. Her mother and father are included in the story, but they are not a central focus. They are very worrisome parents, which I think is expected when your child is bursting out in stripes for no reason. The doctors and specialists with very silly names like Dr. Grop and Dr. Sponge are especially animated and this lends itself to the crazy disease they are trying to cure. They look like crazy mad scientists who seem to care more about giving Camilla a cure then understanding her feelings. The older women in the end of the story seems very kind and cares genuinely for Camilla and wants her to get better and ultimately she is the one who comes up with the magical cure.

     The story is told in third person, and is told by a narrator speaking about all the other characters in the story.  One of the story's main themes is that Camilla is trying to fit in with her classmates.  She will do anything possible in order to fit in, including give up her favorite things.  Camilla isn't herself because she would rather just fit in than be made fun of.

 

Artistic Elements

 

     The illustrations in this picture book are very well done. I believe that while the artwork is very representational because details like people and everyday objects are drawn to represent real life, it can also be considered impressionistic because of the very intense use of color and that is very purposeful. They really draw the reader into the story, and they go along with the text effectively. The illustrations are incredibly vivid and captivating. The colors throughout the story, whether they are dark and pensive or bright and exciting, add to the tone of the story which is somewhat urgent, stirring and colorful. The hues are rich as well as the saturation of colors. Even in areas of the illustrations like pastel colored walls or pillows, the tone comes through. What I notice is that in parts of the story in which Camilla’s color changes dramatically, all that is in the background seems to not so much fade but become more muted. For example, when Camilla turns into the walls in her room in every color, her parents can be seen in the right corner illustrated in muted tones like grays and browns. This allows the central focus of the illustration to be on Camilla and her crazy colors, but stills allows other parts to be deep and rich in color so they add rather than detract from the illustrations.

     On most of the pages, the text and illustrations are seperate so that nothing is taken away from the picture.  One page features the text, and the other features a very detailed picture of what the text is talking about.  The illustrations are seemed to be done in watercolors and markers.  Some of the pictures are very detailed and seem to be drawn, while others are fairly simple with colors blending together.  The illustrations show emotion very well.  When a person is sad they look sad, surprised they look surprised, or confused they look confused.  A lot of the items in the pictures seem to get lighter and darker based on where light could potentially be.  The pictures are very balanced, and your eyes are drawn right away to items that they should be being drawn to.  The colors that are used are very bright and eye catchingThe pictures can tell their own story without the text, which is very important to a picture book.  They go along with the text well and are done in sequential order. 

      The text in the story is the same throughout, and nothing really stands out about it.  It is a plain font and size. I think that this allows the reader to really take in the vivid illustrations because they are so important in telling the story.

 

These pictures show Shannon's blending of many water colors and explicit details.  

These pictures show Shannon's blending of many water colors and explicit details. Both also show his eye catching and bright colors, and his use of lighting to guide eye movement

 

Analysis/ Critique

     I really liked this book.  I thought that it was very socially relevant for elementary school students, but could also be relevant to older students.  It was socially relevant because it talked about something that students struggle with everyday: fitting in.  All students struggle to decide what they should wear, because they don't want to get made fun of.  They also try not to do things that other people don't like, and only do the things that are socially acceptable.  In this book, Camilla doesn't eat lima beans because it is outside of the socially acceptable norms that she is used to.  Students in classrooms today do the same thing when they decide not to eat their hot lunch because someone else thinks it gross, or they decide not to watch a television show because only babies watch it, or they stop wearing their favorite shirt because people make fun of it being out of style. 

     This book is from the perspective of a narrator, but it could be more effective if it was from Camilla's perspective.  If more of a struggle was shown with Camilla trying to fit in, we might understand why she didn't eat the lima beans a little bit better.  Otherwise, the book is very effective in regards to the text and illustrations working together.  Every page had a relevant illustration that brought the reader in and helped further their imagination.  Each illustration also went with the text that was on the opposing or same page as the illustration.  Also the illustrations will keep the reader's interest because they are so vivid and enticing as well as being detailed. The hidden messages and theme of the story are very positive. Never change who you are to make someone else happy.  People will like you for being yourself, and if they don't they aren't worth it.  Dress the way you want to dress, eat what you want to eat, watch what you want to watch, and play with what you want to play with.  If you try to mold yourself into what someone else wants you to be, your not fitting in, your sticking out even more.

 

Extra Activities and Resources

There are activities, information and a special reading by Sean Astin of "A Bad Case of Stripes" here:  www.storylineonline.net  Click on the picture of the story

 

There are interviews and information about David Shannon here: www.readingrockets.org/books/interview/Shannon

 

Several class activities involving crafts and reading questions at : http://www.webenglishteacher.com/shannon.html

 

A sample lesson plan involving the story and worries at : http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=858

 

Citations:

Shannon, David. A Bad Case of Stripes. Illustrated by David Shannon. New York, NY: Scholastic INC., April 1999.

 

Resources:

Storyline Online. Screen Actors Guild Foundation. 3 Decemeber 2009. <http://www.storylineonline.net>

 

A video interview with David Shannon. Reading Rockets. 3 December 2009. <http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interview/Shannon>

 

 

 

 

 

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