Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / Sept. 28, 1994, edition 1 / Page 9
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September 28,1994 Student Life 9 The Stinky Cheese Man takes a new twist on old tales Christina Peoples Book Review Would you believe rae if I said that the princess from the lairy tale “The Princess and the Pea’ actually slept on a bowling ball and not a pea? Is it possible that the duckling the stoiy The Ugly Duckling’ never turned into a swan, but was actually just a really ugly duck? Do you think that Cinderella could not have ended up with the prince, but instead stayed home from the bail and still had to clean the house? Well, ifyou read The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales, you will believe all of these strange story twists and more are possible. The authors of this Caldecott Honor Book, jon ScieszJca and Lane Smith, select ten of the most com monly read tales and take them in new, creative directions. The Stinky Cheese Man would be an ideal book for an English teacher to use in class because the students could select a tale of their own and change it any vny they wanted or write a brand new tale themselves after seeing the tales from this book as examples. Parents C3iTiil'X>\sstTheStinl^^eeseMan to add a little creativity and variety to their children’s stoty time. College students can really get into the humor of the book and spend a relaxing half hour or so chortling at the silly dia logue and zany illustrations. The basic set-up ofTbe Stinky CbeeseMan isanythingbut'basic'iin fact, the title p^e, dedication page, introduction, table of contents, end p^e and back cover are part of the book’s appeal. The title page is set in huge, boldine type that does not only catch your eye, but makes you spring back in a.stonishment. The dedication page is turned upside down and ac knowledged as being so by Jack the Narrator (of “Jack and the Beanstalk" fame) who writes the introduaion on the next page complete with a Sur geon General’s Warning that says, “It has been determined that these tales are fairly stupkl and probably hazard ous to your health.” This introduaion and warning basically set the comical tone of the entire book. The table of contents that usu ally never gets to do anything but take up space becomes a major player in the feirly stupid tale of “Chicken Ucken,” which has been adapted from “Chicken Little.” The end pages have an entire page of illustration, and the words The End are written in bold face type with a picture of Jack the Narrator grinning and ruiming off the other page. The back cover is not just a cover, but a continuation of the story of the Little Red Hen. In short, The Stinky Cheese Man is packed with fiin from cover to cover to say the least. The illustrations in the book are colorful, creative and fun. Lane Smith takes the traditional pictures of the fairy tale characters and turns them into something ofhis own creation. By that I don't mean that the pictures are necessarily gorgeous, but that the char acters are seen with a new eye of reality that is probably closer to the truth than the typical, idealized ver sions. The illustrations can be simple piaures of the characters or scenery, or they can be collages. The most interesting illustrations are actually part of the story text. For example, the Little Red Hen always talks in red ink, and the giant always speaks in capital letters, which really bothers Jack the Narrator. The Stinky Cheese Man is so- named because the main story at the endofthe book isaboutaStinky Cheese Man who is like the character of the speedy Gingerbread Man who can’t be caught, but the Stinky Cheese Man smells bad, so no one really wants to chase him. Some of the other &iry tale favorites that^are transformed in this book are ‘Chicken LitUe,' “The Ugly Duckling," “The Tortoiseand the Hare," 'Cinderella,” “The Princess and the Pea,’ “Little Red Riding Hood," “The Frog Prince. ■ “Jack and the Beanstalk,’ and “The Little Red Hen." Like the other stories, “The Little Red Hen" takes a new twist on the story, not in the plot, but in the actual character of the Little Red Hen. She never actually gets to tell her story, she just pops up rudely on some pages and argues with Jack about her story, whines that no one will help her, and complains about the content of The Stini^ Cheese Man asawhole. Thisis quite a di£ferent piaure of the little Red Hen than the one we leam at a young age. She does not measure up to the perfect, on-time and prepared hen that she appears to be in the other stoty. The Stinl^ Cheese Man is a book that should literally be read from cover to cover because if you even miss a word on the inside of the jacket, you might have missed a good laugh. The authors say that the book is appro priate for children of all ages, and 1 agree that any child can enjoy and appreciate the pictures, but to really understand these stories, I think the child needs to be a little older (at least school age). This is not to say that the book should not be read to younger children, but it would be more effec tive and enjoyable for an older child. Perhaps the younger children should first be exposed to the real feiry tales and then these new, creative twists can be added. As a self-test to see ifyou have read the book with as much scru tiny as you should have to catch all of the jokes, you should be able to an swer the Litde Red Hen's question on the back cover—"Who is this ISBN guy?" Now go and read quietly and enjoy the book before the giant from the beanstalk wakes up! Recoinmended Reading list compiled by the Colton English Club Bloominn bv Susan Allan Toth Iw Dav.i bv Susan Allan Tnth Wouldn't Take Nothina For MvJoumevNow bv Mava Ann«lnn Travels with Charlie bv John Steinbeck IntArvlAW with a Vamolrft bv Ann Ricft Breakfast at Tiffanv's bv Trunrwn Conotn Other Voices. Other Rooms bv Trunrian Canot« Rriffin A Ssbine bv Nick Rantock Sebine’s Notebook bv Nick Bantock The Golden Mean bv Nick Bantock The Stinkv Cheese Man and other Fairtv5!tuniHTal#i.s hw.lnn n ana 5rT.i*h
Meredith College Student Newspaper
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Sept. 28, 1994, edition 1
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