A Bad
Case of Stripes by David Shannon is an interesting story about a girl who wants
to fit in. She wants to fit in so much that she would do what people wanted her
to do, even if that wasn't exactly who she was. For example she loved to eat
lima beans, but because she knew most people thought they were gross she also
pretended like she thought they were gross. One day, when she was figuring out
what to wear to school that would impress everyone, something happened. Her
skin turns into stripes! The story continues as she turns into whatever people
say about her until she finally learns to be herself again. She
"cures" herself by eating a handful of lima beans, the same beans
that she pretended she didn't like.
I
think the author’s message is that if you pretend to be what other people like
or think you should be then you don't have control over your life anymore. Camilla
begin to literally “fit in” throughout the story when her skin continue to
change based on what people said. What I
personally took away from this book is to be who you really are. If people pick on
you for it then they aren't really your friends. For example, when she kept
becoming what everyone wanted her to become all the kids laughed and picked on her,
but when she was herself in the end everyone accepted her. True friends accept you no matter what you look like or like.
