A Bad Case Of Stripes


I was all excited to have tonight's review spotlight the 2012 Caldecott winner, announced today, but someone beat me to the library.  [Quick aside: I took a peek at the reference copy of A Ball for Daisy while I was there and let's just say that fellow finalist Grandpa Green was robbed.] Since that plan went by the wayside, I figured why not review the most visually striking cover I could find... 

THREE PROS
*While it didn't nab the Caldecott, the illustrations were superb -- so superb that it garnered numerous statewide honors, including the Wyoming Buckaroo Book Award (which just sounds awesome and also happens to be chosen by kids)  
*How can you not love the moral of the story -- although I would have loved it even more if David Shannon had thrown in one blunt sentence that spelled out the message clearly for younger readers to easily understand
*I was impressed by Shannon's ability to work in difficult adult characters (medical scientists, pushy media, and homeopathic shamans come to mind) to keep my interest level peaked

THREE CONS 
*As great as the pictures and text are (not to mention how fun it is to hear the title vocalized by a toddler), it's a read that required me to invest more energy than normal to get through it, partly because it is for an older demographic than we normally tackle in my home, but also because the concepts are advanced for anyone under eight or so 
*When Camilla becomes her room, it had a Pee-Wee's Playhouse type of vibe, which I would argue is never a good thing 
*Lima beans were far too prevalent and might have thrown some tykes off of the trail by making them think that this story was about eating your vegetables

ONE DAD'S OPINION
I don't have a lot to add here on why I feel this is a Borrow, other than to say that it was very close to receiving a Buy.  In the end, though, the book reminded me of a horse-sized vitamin pill. You know that you'll be glad you took it, but can't help but pause a few beats right before it's goes down.  A Bad Case of Stripes is worth the momentary discomfort.  Trust me, I'm only a few classes short of being a doctor :)
    

Buy / BORROW / Donate / Destroy



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