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The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith, 1992, New York, NY: Viking Books for Young Readers. 56 pages. ISBN: 978-0670844876.
Age/Interest Level: 3-7 years
Lexile Level: 520L
Awards: Caldecott Honor (1993)
Reader Annotation: Mother Goose probably never intended this, but the Stinky Cheese Man is on the loose. He and some other wild fairy tale retellings are wreaking havoc on all of the classics.
Plot Summary: The narrator, Jack, has to start off by yelling at the Hen for trying to tell a story on the endpaper. It’s all downhill from there. Morals are crushed, characters weave in and out of stories, and the Table of Contents starts running amuck. Even the Really Ugly Duckling isn’t such a nice tale anymore, considering he grows up be a Really Ugly Duck.
Critical Evaluation: Scieszka and Smith work so effortlessly together it is almost as though they have reinvented the concept of the book. That’s part of the grandiose wit of this work. While it is best when read out loud, the various jokes defy the idea of a picture book. The Table of Contents smashes into a scene, characters are happy to pop into stories they don’t belong, and there’s nothing wrong with breaking the fourth wall. This book rewrote the idea of what a children’s book could be, and it’s aided by a perfect blending of text to illustration. The acrylic illustrations are so smooth and polished they almost appear to be graphics. Yet, they grasp onto this fairytale landscape and legitimize the absurd jokes, right down to the Hen screaming at the ISBN on the back of the book.
Why Included: This Caldecott Honor work is pure, unabashed fun. Yet, it works with a wit that goes beyond just being silly. This plays with the idea of what a book really is and challenges children to reimagine and repurpose literature for their own devices.
Age/Interest Level: 3-7 years
Lexile Level: 520L
Awards: Caldecott Honor (1993)
Reader Annotation: Mother Goose probably never intended this, but the Stinky Cheese Man is on the loose. He and some other wild fairy tale retellings are wreaking havoc on all of the classics.
Plot Summary: The narrator, Jack, has to start off by yelling at the Hen for trying to tell a story on the endpaper. It’s all downhill from there. Morals are crushed, characters weave in and out of stories, and the Table of Contents starts running amuck. Even the Really Ugly Duckling isn’t such a nice tale anymore, considering he grows up be a Really Ugly Duck.
Critical Evaluation: Scieszka and Smith work so effortlessly together it is almost as though they have reinvented the concept of the book. That’s part of the grandiose wit of this work. While it is best when read out loud, the various jokes defy the idea of a picture book. The Table of Contents smashes into a scene, characters are happy to pop into stories they don’t belong, and there’s nothing wrong with breaking the fourth wall. This book rewrote the idea of what a children’s book could be, and it’s aided by a perfect blending of text to illustration. The acrylic illustrations are so smooth and polished they almost appear to be graphics. Yet, they grasp onto this fairytale landscape and legitimize the absurd jokes, right down to the Hen screaming at the ISBN on the back of the book.
Why Included: This Caldecott Honor work is pure, unabashed fun. Yet, it works with a wit that goes beyond just being silly. This plays with the idea of what a book really is and challenges children to reimagine and repurpose literature for their own devices.