The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

( 65 )

Overview

The entire book, with its unconventional page arrangement and eclectic, frenetic mix of text and picures, is a spoof on the art of book design and the art of the fairy tale. The individual tales, such as he Really Ugly Ducklingand ittle Red Running Shorts,can be extracted for telling aloud, with great success. Another masterpiece from the team that created The True Story of the Three Little Pigs!
-Horn Book

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More About This Book

Overview

The entire book, with its unconventional page arrangement and eclectic, frenetic mix of text and picures, is a spoof on the art of book design and the art of the fairy tale. The individual tales, such as he Really Ugly Ducklingand ittle Red Running Shorts,can be extracted for telling aloud, with great success. Another masterpiece from the team that created The True Story of the Three Little Pigs!
-Horn Book

Madcap revisions of familiar fairy tales.

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Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble Review
Get out the nose plugs, folks, and stuff up your nostrils -- the Stinky Cheese Man is back after ten years! Yep, it's been a decade since that zany duo of Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith created the odious little guy who ended up winning our hearts and garnering a Caldecott Honor, and now he's returned in this snazzy, newly jacketed ten-year anniversary edition.

Looking better than ever, the The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales includes all the fractured fairy tales we love, along with some never-before-seen extras. Among Scieszka's lively stories are "The Really Ugly Duckling," "Cinderumpelstiltskin," and, of course "The Stinky Cheese Man." The tales are still fresh and hysterical, with lots of tongue-in-cheek text adding to the book's forward-thinking design. Smith's kooky artwork remains the perfect complement, too, as deep colors and exaggerated features give the book that extra twisted look. The new jacket, though, is the real bonus for this edition -- the inside reveals "The Boy Who Cried Cow Patty," which was mentioned in the first book but then lost, along with all the numbers that fell off the table of contents. In addition to the Stinky Cheese Man's big, smelly mug on the cover, the Little Red Hen is still busy ranting and clucking about her wheat.

Ten years ago, this had all the bells and whistles of a groundbreaking book, and now there's even more. Children and adults still cheer over Scieszka and Smith's unique take on fairy tales, and with this new edition, old fans and new readers alike can chortle over wacky favorites and steaming cow-patty tales. Great for reading aloud or role playing, this anniversary edition reeks of a fun time. (Matt Warner)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Grade-school irreverence abounds in this compendium of extremely brief fractured fairy tales, which might well be subtitled ``All Things Gross and Giddy.'' With a relentless application of the sarcasm that tickled readers of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs , Scieszka and Smith skewer a host of juvenile favorites: Little Red Running Shorts beats the wolf to grandmother's house; the Really Ugly Duckling matures into a Really Ugly Duck; Cinderumpelstiltskin is ``a girl who really blew it.'' Text and art work together for maximum comic impact--varying styles and sizes of type add to the illustrations' chaos, as when Chicken Licken discovers that the Table of Contents, and not the sky, is falling. Smith's art, in fact, expands upon his previous waggery to include increased interplay between characters, and even more of his intricate detail work. The collaborators' hijinks are evident in every aspect of the book, from endpapers to copyright notice. However, the zaniness and deadpan delivery that have distinguished their previous work may strike some as overdone here. This book's tone is often frenzied; its rather specialized humor, delivered with the rapid-fire pacing of a string of one-liners, at times seems almost mean-spirited. Ages 5-up. Oct.
Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot
A totally irreverent retelling of a number of classic fairy tales including "The Little Red Hen," "The Princess and the Pea," and "The Ugly Duckling." All are accompanied by the equally wacky and outrageous illustrations of Lane Smith. A book that will undoubtedly appeal to those who know the original stories and have a good sense of the absurd.
Children's Literature - Susie Wilde
Scieszka and his comic cohort, Smith, have ignited a resurgence of retellings and brought new vision to fairy tales. The daring duo was distinguished with a Caldecott honor for this collection of irreverent tales. Scieszka refers to this book as "one of the first fairy tales I twisted" and probably their "fairy tale finale." Below Scieszka's patina of humor and playfulness, there is a respect for kids that shapes his work. "I gravitated to fairy tales because it's the genre that kids are in charge of, can take control of, and be in on the joke." His books may appeal to adults, but they primarily are created for, motivated by, and support the vision of kids.
School Library Journal
Gr 2-6-- Scieszka and Smith, the daring duo responsible for revealing The True Story of the Three Little Pigs Viking, 1989, return here with nine new exposes, all narrated by the ubiquitous Jack of Beanstalk fame. Unlike the detailed retelling of the pigs' tale, most of these stories are shortened, one-joke versions that often trade their traditional morals for hilarity. ``The Stinky Cheese Man'' is an odoriferous cousin to the gingerbread boy; when he runs away, nobody wants to run after him. ``The Other Frog Prince'' wheedles a kiss only to reveal that he is just a tricky frog as the princess wipes the frog slime off her lips; the Little Red Hen wanders frantically in and out of the book squawking about her wheat, her bread, her story, until she is finally and permanently squelched by Jack's giant. The broad satire extends even to book design, with a blurb that proclaims ``NEW! IMPROVED! FUNNY! GOOD! BUY! NOW!'' and a skewed table of contents crashing down on Chicken Licken and company several pages after they proclaim that the sky is falling. The illustrations are similar in style and mood to those in the earlier book, with the addition of more abstraction plus collage in some areas. The typeface, text size, and placement varies to become a vital part of the illustrations for some of the tales. Clearly, it is necessary to be familiar with the original folktales to understand the humor of these versions. Those in the know will laugh out loud. --Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA
School Library Journal
Gr 2-6--Nine irreverent and witty exposes of folkloric folk, ingeniously designed, outrageously illustrated, and all narrated by the ubiquitous Jack of Beanstalk fame, with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. Sept. 1992
Stephanie Zvirin
[FOCUS] Gr. 2 and up. Whatever Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith coproduce usually spells a raucous time for everyone see interview on opposite page, and this book's no different. It's a continuation of the fairy tale fracturing the pair undertook in "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" , going that story nine better. Here are "10 complete stories!" and "25 lavish paintings!" that purposefully wreak havoc with such familiar nursery tales as "Little Red Riding Hood," "The Princess and the Pea," and "Jack and the Beanstalk." The picture-book set will probably recognize the stories enough to know that what's going on isn't what's "supposed" to happen. But "The Stinky Cheese Man" isn't a book for little ones. It will take older children that's teens along with 10s to follow the disordered story lines and appreciate the narrative's dry wit, wordplay, and wacky, sophomoric jokes. There's more than a touch of black humor, too--Jack's giant eats the Little Red Hen as the book closes, and the Ugly Duckling never turns into a gorgeous swan. Smith's New Wave art is an intricate part of the whole, extending as well as reinforcing the narrative; the pictures are every bit as comically insolent and deliberately clever as the words, with Smith's dark palette giving them a moody feeling. An illustration sure to elicit school-yard belly laughs pictures the book's title character whose head is an odiferous wheel of cheese causing flowers to wilt, skunks to faint, and children to run screaming for home. But the high jinks go beyond plot and picture. Scieszka and Smith also play around with book design: type sizes vary from minute to majestic; one page is totally blank this greatly upsets the Little Red Hen, while several others are filled with yellow "smell" squiggles. And there are other little "surprises," some of which seem aimed more at adults than at kids: not often, for example, will you find such a rhetorical question as "Who is this ISBN guy?" or discover that book illustrations have been done in "oil and vinegar." Every part of the book bears the loving, goofy stamp of its creators, and while their humor won't appeal to everyone, their endeavors will still attract a hefty following of readers--from 9 to 99. For fractured fairy tales of a different kind, see Brooke's "Untold Tales" in this issue.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780670844876
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 10/28/1992
  • Pages: 56
  • Sales rank: 24,449
  • Age range: 4 - 8 Years
  • Lexile: 520L (what's this?)
  • Product dimensions: 8.68 (w) x 10.84 (h) x 0.42 (d)

Meet the Author

Jon Scieszka
Jon Scieszka

Jon Scieszka is the author of The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!, the Time Warp Trio series, The Stinky Cheese Man, and a truckload of other books that inspire kids to want to read. His work as an elementary school teacher and as founder of a literacy initiative for boys (www.guysread.com) drove him to create Trucktown, a crazy, fun action series for the youngest readers.

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 65 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(49)

4 Star

(7)

3 Star

(2)

2 Star

(6)

1 Star

(1)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 65 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 8, 2008

    Very funny!

    My 6 year old daughter loves this book. She laughs hysterically when she reads it.

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted June 13, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    It is a very funny book for children and contains a modern vocabulary. The writing is decent, and the characters are hilarious. I read it when I was in elementary school and still remembered it ten years later.

    Scieszka's outlandish characters and twisted plots will entertain children. The vocabulary is modern, and the writing is decent. I read the book when I was a child, and I still remembered it ten years later when I started a collection of children's books for my future children.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted April 14, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    New and refreshing

    This book is so much fun, not only is it a family favorite between my kids and I, but I have also given it out as gifts to adult friends. It's great for all ages, and no one walks away without giggling for the next few days.

    The entertainment begins on the inside cover page...and don't forget to read the table of contents. You won't be disappointed

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted July 9, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

    I remember!

    I'm 17 years old now and a senior in high school, but I can tell you that this is a book that I definetaly remember my elementary school teachers reading outloud to the class many time, because we all loved it. It has everything that we loved. This book is not one to pass up. I'll be buying a copy for my little sisters to enjoy as much is I use to when I was younger. I would also get the hardcover version, because it's bound to last longer than the paperback version. Hope you like it as much as I do. Brings back great memories! (: - Natalia

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 21, 2008

    Halairious and Outstanding!

    'The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales' is a great book! It rearanges and twists Classic Fairy Tales into funny, cute stories and let's the Fairy Tales go into whole new dirictions. If you thought Fairy Tales were boring, you've GOT to check this book out!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted February 15, 2013

    Fun Twist on classic tales

    A rollicking fun and good read for your elementary or older children.

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  • Posted November 27, 2012

    Just upon opening the book and looking at the first page, I knew

    Just upon opening the book and looking at the first page, I knew it was going to be a fun book. I'd have to say some things were really funny, while others you kind of just wanted to do the eh it was ok sort of polite laugh. I read this book aloud to my nieces and just when I thought they were certainly going to lose interest, they'd laugh along and at the end told me it was a great book. This book put various spins on a lot of the fairy tales we grew up with, for example Cinderella is no longer Cinderella, she becomes "Cinderrumpelstiltskin". Although I didn't get all the humor, I think this book would be a good one to just be silly when reading to kids. This is one of those books that the person reading it, if they put just the right about of personality in it, will make it a great one.

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  • Posted May 8, 2012

    Don't buy this used because whoever owned it will have read the

    Don't buy this used because whoever owned it will have read the book until it fell apart. I loved reading the stories to my kids because I could make them laugh out loud. When they started reading, this was a good book to read with them because the dialogue is easy to read dramatically (or melodramatically). I can browse the whole Humor section of a bookstore without finding anything funny, but this book is witty enough for me.

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  • Posted March 6, 2012

    My brothers and I had this book when we were young and loved it.

    My brothers and I had this book when we were young and loved it. My son just turned one, and we still love going through these stories just as much as we did when we were little. A fun book for both parents and kids.

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  • Posted June 6, 2011

    poor

    The condition of the book that was sent to me was supposed to be "very good" according to the seller. It was in fact very poor. The binding has a tear in it, the pages are wrinkly and dirty, there is writing in it. Come on, that is not ethical.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 13, 2010

    A childhood favorite to pass down!

    I am 22 and when I was 8, I got this book from a book fair. It was instantly my favorite book and I never put it down. I now have a 3 year old that I will purchase this for. If he doesn't like it, I know I will :]

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  • Posted August 9, 2010

    Get Your Children To Think In a New Way

    After my then 7 year old grand daughter finished this book she said: "This book is just too good!". And it is. It is a terrific spoof of classic fairy tales designed to make children laugh and think. Any child who enjoys reading will love this book.

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  • Posted March 20, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    A great alternative

    This book is a very funny book and a great alternative to your normal fairy tales. I bought this book for my sister for a baby shower gift (I have my own copy). I hope the whole family will get many years of enjoyment out of it.

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  • Posted January 2, 2010

    Amust read for all kids

    A laugh aminute. Your kids will love it

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 24, 2008

    Really Fun Book For All Ages

    This book is a great non-traditional twist to old children's tales. It's lots of fun and everyone will want to hear it over and over.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 2, 2008

    amazing book

    This book is the best!!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 22, 2007

    The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales Review

    Caldecott Book Title: The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Stupid Fairly Stupid Tales Reading Level: First thru Fourth Grade Genre: Fairy Tales About the Author: Jon Scieska was born in Flint, Michigan on September 8, 1954. In 1980, he received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University. Mr. Scieska lives in Brooklyn, New York with wife, Jerilyn, and his son, Jake, and daughter, Casey. Book Review: The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Stupid Fairly Stupid Tales puts a new twist on our old fairy tale favorites. The author refers to these stories as ¿Fairy Tales.¿ He has taken a novel approach in presenting these delightful stories which reinvent some time worn classics. This book is a collection of ten tales which include: The Stinky Cheese Man, Really Ugly Duckling, Jack¿s Bean Problem, and The Other Frog Prince. These tales are narrated by Jack, who is a character from Jack and the Bean Stalk. This book is full of surprises. Mr. Scieska takes the traditional morals, and replaces them with humorous antics and surprising plot twists. Despite the changes, the original stories that inspired the Fairy Tales are still easy to recognize. In The Stinky Cheese Man we are introduced to the aromatic counterpart of the gingerbread man, but when The Stinky Cheese Man runs away, nobody wants to run after him, or eat him because he smells so stinky. In The Other Frog Prince, a frog tricks the princess into kissing him, only to reveal in the end that he was ¿just kidding¿, leaving her wiping off frog slime. Reading The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales was a pleasant experience. I would recommend this book for both children and adults to enjoy. Bibliographic Information: Scieska, Jon & Smith, Lane. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales . New York: Viking, 1992.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 22, 2007

    The Stinky Cheese Man

    Jack from Jack in the beanstalk is telling this story about ¿almost Fariy Tales.¿ It starts with an introduction and a story about Chicken Licken. Chicken Licken is retold imitating Chicken Little. Fairy tales are retold by Jack in his own version of retelling the stories. One of the stories retold is the Really Ugly Duckling. ¿Well as it turned out, he was just a really ugly duckling.¿ Little Red Running shorts is ¿about this girl who runs very fast and always wears red running shorts.¿ She ran so fast that she beat the fox to her grandma¿s house. Other stories are The Princess and the Bowling Ball, The Other Frog Prince, Jack¿s Bean Problem, and Cinderrumpelstiltskin, and The Stinky Cheese Man. A little old woman and a little old man wanted to make a stinky cheese man so that they wouldn¿t be lonely anymore. She opened the oven to find that he stunk very badly. Then he ¿hopped out of the oven and ran out the door calling ¿Run run run as fast as you can. You can¿t catch me. I¿m the Stinky Cheese Man!¿ This story is mimicking The Gingerbread Man. Unlike The Gingerbread Man, no one wants the stinky cheese man because he stinks so badly. Jon Scieszka was born in Flint, Michigan in 1954. He started college intending to be a doctor. He changed his career to become a teacher like his father. After he became a teacher he started writing children¿s books with the illustrator Lane Smith. Together they have won a Caldecott Honor Award for The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales. Scieszka, Jon. The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 16, 2006

    The Stinky Cheese Man and other

    Caldecott This is a funny book and I think you¿ll like it. It's some of your favorite fairy tales except told in parody form. My favorites are 'Jack's Bean Problem,' 'Little Red Running Shorts,' 'Chicken Licken,' and 'The Really Ugly Duckling.' But they're all very funny. The Little Red Hen will crack you up as she blabbers on about how no one is helping her. Jon Scieszka was born in Flint, Michigan on September 8, 1954. He received his Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University in 1980. Today Jon Scieszka and his wife, Jerilyn, son, Jake, and daughter, Casey, live in Brooklyn, New York. Bibliography Scieszka, Jon. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. New York: Penguin Group, 1992.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 26, 2006

    A twist on fairy tales!

    Tired of your everyday run-of-the-mill fairy tales, then this is the book for you. In this delightfully funny book it tells the famous fairy tales renamed as, Chicken Licken, The Really Ugly Duckling, Cinderrumpelstiltskin, Little Red Running Shorts, and Jack¿s Bean Problem. Each story is narrated by Jack, as in Jack and the Beanstalk. Another tale in this book is The Stinky Cheese Man which the book is titled for. In this particular story, fashioned after The Gingerbread Man, a little old man and a little old woman created a man out of stinky cheese, which comes to life. However, unlike in The Gingerbread Man, no one wants to eat him, they all just want him to run as fast as he can away from them. Read this funny story and others in this hilarious retelling of the classic fairy tales. The author of this book Jon Scieszka was born in Flint, Michigan in 1954. When he first went to college he was studying to be a doctor, but then changed careers and became a teacher like his father. After he had taught for a while he decided to take off a year to work on ideas for children¿s books with an illustrator he knew named Lane Smith. This delightful duo has won numerous awards for their efforts together, such as the Caldecott Honor Award, Rhode Island Children¿s Book Award, American Library Association Notable Book, Blue Ribbon Book, and many more.

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