Title – A Bad Case of Stripes
Author(s) – David Shannon
Illustrator/Photographer – David Shannon
Publisher and Year – Blue Sky Press, 1998
Number of pages – 30 pages
Tags/Themes – Rylie Loux, Fiction, Friendship, Emotion, K-1, 2-3
Genre – Fiction
Descriptive Annotation: “Camilla Cream loved lima beans. But she never ate them. All of her friends hated lima beans, and she wanted to fit in. Camilla was always worried about what other people thought of her.” This book shows the story of the girl Camilla Cream who loved lima beans, but was too worried of what other people thought to eat them. She was scared of her first day of school, which led to her diagnosis of a bad case of stripes. This quote starts out the story and shows readers they shouldn’t worry about what others think. Many specialists and media networks were intrigued by this outrageous case, and Camilla’s case only got worse as her stripes turned to stars, roots, and even walls. Finally, the cure for Camilla was simply lima beans as she embraced her individuality.
Classroom Application: This is a perfect resource for engaging students to prompt discussion about why we worry about what others think, bullying, and learning to respect and accept differences in others. This discussion could also lead to what makes a student worry. By doing this, the students are able to think about what they worry about when they go back to school. This demonstrates that each student has their own fears and worries and that no one should ever bully another student because of this. Another ideology that is presented is learning what respectful behavior is and learning how to apply that in the classroom.
Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: Individuality is the main idea that is expressed in this story. This story can deliver the message of individuality in many types of cultures. Each person has their own background and culture and the goal of this story is to share that each student should be able to express themselves without worrying what others think. There is some cultural diversity present in the illustrations in this book with many different races represented.