Illustrator: Lane Young
Comments:
I love the unique layout of this book. I remember first reading this book when I was about 10 years old. There is print in so many unexpected places that I found myself searching for more to read. Although it makes it hard to follow during a read-aloud, I think it would be very engaging for an independent reader. I found an article in The Horn Book about how design functions in The Stinky Cheese Man called Design Matters, written by John Scieszka and designed by Molly Leach.
Jon Scieszka is a Michigan native, from Flint. Also, the illustrations were made using oil and vinegar.
This book could be used after introducing the stories in their original form. The class could discuss similarities and differences in the stories and whether or not the changes this author made altered the original meaning of the tales.
Because of its unconventional design, this book highlights features of books like endpages, the title page, dedication page, page orientation, introduction, table of contents, and even ISBN. You can use this book to test or reinforce concepts of print.
Amazon categorizes this book for ages 4-8. Although younger readers may enjoy the silly stories, they might not fully appreciate the humor without the appropriate background knowledge (the original tales and typical structure of books). Upper elementary students would enjoy listening to and reading these stories, they may even want to act out the stories. Middle schoolers may choose this book for independent reading, and it may inspire them to write their own parodies of fairy tales.
Copyright: 1992
Age/grade level: Upper Elementary
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Folklore (parody)
Multicultural/International: no
Awards: Caldecott Honor Book, New York Times Best Illustrated Book award
Location: Personal Library
Rating: * * * *
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