

Sawyer, Shannon’s story encourages students to consider their own experiences to develop a personal connection. A 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children." Īccording to an elementary school teacher in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Donna M. A 2004 study found that it was a common read-aloud book for fourth-graders in schools in San Diego County, California. The reading highlighted the book’s theme of teaching “children to be themselves and to respect those who may be different.” Pedagogy Ī Bad Case of Stripes is popular in the curricula of many elementary schools. Camilla then learns about herself and her surroundings through her “nightmare metamorphosis.” By the end of the book, Camilla “regains her identity when she is true to herself.” In 2018, West Virginia First Lady, Cathy Justice, read this book to young children in honor of the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge. In the beginning of the book, Camilla conforms to peer pressure, which is shown through her chameleon-like trait of blending into her surroundings. A Bad Case of Stripes teaches a lesson about the importance of being one's true self through a lima bean metaphor. She enjoys being different and never has stripes again.Ī Bad Case of Stripes discusses ethics and metaphysics, by highlighting self-perception, identity, and bullying. Camilla is successfully reverted to a human and continues to eat lima beans although her friends consider her strange for liking them, she doesn't even care a bit. Camilla is afraid to admit her willingness to eat them at first, but after realizing that this could be her only hope of being cured, she allows the old woman to feed her them. Finally, she melts and merges into her room after an environmental therapist tells her to “become one with the room”.įinally, an old lady tells her to eat some lima beans. She even has viruses, bacteria, and fungus colonies grow on her body after the community's expert scientists discuss these as a possible cause to her situation while examining her. She turns into a pill after being given one and grows roots, berries, crystals, feathers, and a long furry tail after receiving different medicine.

The principal sends her home as she is proving to be a distraction, and calls her parents to keep Camilla home from school until her symptoms wear off.Īt home, Camilla goes through a number of increasingly preposterous metamorphoses.
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But when she does the next day, most of the other children tease her and some of the other children call out colors and patterns which cause the colors on her skin to shift around. Bumble, determines that Camilla is well enough to attend school tomorrow. On the first day of school, she wakes up to discover thick, solid-colored stripes all over her body. However, she refuses to eat them because her friends dislike them and Camilla wants to fit in. The main character is a girl named Camilla Cream who secretly loves lima beans.

Amongst some negative response, this children’s book is also praised for its creativity, illustrations, and meaningful lessons. A Bad Case of Stripes highlights the theme of being true to oneself and is commonly used by educators to teach young students important values. Blue Sky Press (an imprint of Scholastic Press)Ī Bad Case of Stripes is a children's book written and illustrated by David Shannon published in 1998 by Blue Sky Press, a division of Scholastic Press.
