The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieska

Title: The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

Author: Jon Scieszka, Illustrator: Lane Smith

Genre: Fantasy

Awards/Honors: Caldecott Honor Award

Publisher: Viking Books

Copyright: 1992

Age/Grade Level: Mostly for Kindergarten through 2nd, but I think kids of ALL ages will love this book! :)

Basic Overview: The setting is in the book itself. The characters, including the narrator, react to one another to make the story come together. They are very emotional characters: the mean giant, the glory-hungry Hen, and the cautious narrator. As well, there is the Stinky Cheese man who you can practically smell through the book, the sly fox, and all the other important animals of the stories. They are all in conflict with one another, trying to steal their own spot of glory in the book. The exposition begins with the introduction, then moves into the rising action being the telling of stories (we see the true beginning as the table of contents are forgotten), then the climax begins when the giant arrives to take over; however, the stinky cheese man saves the day with the falling action story leading to the conclusion of the giant eating the glory-hungry hen. The theme is hard to find, but perhaps like The Three Pigs, it is about finding another way of getting out of a sticky situation. That theme covers many of the smaller stories in between as well.

What makes it quality literature: This book does not overly teach or moralize, encompasses poetic language, and all of the stories, characters, and main plot come together to make a whole story. By those standards, this is quality literature, and I know kids will love to read because of this book. Therefore, I book that ‘will be’ timeless is quality literature.

Is it ESOL Speaker Oriented?: Read aloud properly, I believe ESOL students will get a kick out of this. Socially, I believe this book will help ESOL students connect with the other students by just getting a chance to laugh together. Plus, once again, those pictures are an awesome way of producing visuals during the story for those students. I mean to say, the silly and “fairly-stupid” voice of the story is reflected in the artwork presented in the book. Even ESOL students can see the difference in voice through pictures.

How can it be used in the classroom?: Read aloud passage: Page 30, The Tortoise and The Hair, The Tortoise is a very slow animal, and the rabbit makes a deal with him that his hair can grow faster than the tortoise can walk in a race. In the end, the tortoise ran, and the rabbit grew his hair. Assuredly, this is “not” the end…

How can parents use this book?: Just like The Three Pigs, this book is great for helping a child find joy in reading, and possibly, their choice genre or style of writing. Do they prefer whacky, out-of-the-ordinary comedies? Or maybe they would prefer a true story? Use this book as a spring-board into finding what your child loves. Read aloud WITH them, admiring the pictures and discussing what were the best parts.

Accessibility: Easy – Such a popular book is easily found at the library or bookstore. Find it now at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Stinky-Cheese-Other-Fairly-Stupid/dp/067084487X/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235696922&sr=8-1#

Kiddie L. Critic