A Bad Case of Stripes facts for kids
Cover of book
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| Author | David Shannon |
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| Illustrator | David Shannon |
| Country | United States of America |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Published | 1998 |
| Publisher | Blue Sky Press (an imprint of Scholastic Press) |
| Pages | 33 (unpaginated) |
A Bad Case of Stripes is a popular children's book from 1998. It was written and drawn by David Shannon. The book was published by Blue Sky Press, which is part of Scholastic Press. This story teaches an important lesson: it's okay to be yourself. Many teachers use it to help young students learn about being true to who they are. People often praise the book for its creative ideas, colorful pictures, and helpful messages.
Contents
What Happens in the Story?
Camilla's Secret and the Stripes
The main character of the story is a girl named Camilla Cream. Camilla has a secret: she really loves to eat lima beans. But her friends don't like lima beans at all. Camilla wants to fit in with her friends, so she pretends not to like them either. She never eats them, even though she wants to.
The day before school starts, something strange happens. Camilla wakes up and finds her body covered in thick, colorful stripes! They are solid colors, like a rainbow. Her family's doctor, Dr. Bumble, checks on her. He says she is healthy enough to go to school the next day.
School Troubles
When Camilla goes to school, the other kids notice her stripes right away. Most of them tease her. Some children even start shouting out different colors and patterns. When they do, the stripes on Camilla's skin change and move around! This causes a big distraction in the classroom.
Because of all the commotion, the principal sends Camilla home. He tells her parents to keep her home from school. Camilla needs to stay home until her strange stripes disappear.
More Changes at Home
Back at home, Camilla's condition gets even stranger. She goes through many wild and unbelievable changes. First, she turns into a giant pill after taking some medicine. Then, she grows roots, berries, crystals, feathers, and even a long, furry tail after trying different treatments.
Experts from the community, like scientists, come to examine her. They think her problem might be caused by tiny living things like viruses, bacteria, or fungus. As they talk about these things, colonies of them actually start to grow on Camilla's body! Later, an environmental therapist tells her to "become one with the room." When Camilla tries this, she melts and merges into her bedroom walls.
The Cure and the Lesson
Finally, an old lady comes to visit Camilla. This wise old woman tells Camilla to eat some lima beans. At first, Camilla is scared to admit that she actually likes lima beans. She has kept it a secret for so long.
But Camilla realizes this might be her only chance to get better. So, she lets the old woman feed her the lima beans. As soon as she eats them, something amazing happens! Camilla is instantly cured and turns back into her normal human self.
After this experience, Camilla continues to eat lima beans whenever she wants. Her friends still think it's strange that she likes them. Even her hair bow stays covered in stripes! But Camilla doesn't care anymore. She has learned to enjoy being different and true to herself. She never gets the stripes again.
