The+Stinky+Cheese+Man+and+other+Fairly+Stupid+Fairytales

By Jon Scieszka Illustrated by Lane Smith
 * The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales **

Summary, Review, Literary Analysis and Author Bio by Kimberly Stryker


 * Bibliographic Data: **
 * ISBN-13: 9780670844876
 * Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
 * Publication date: 10/28/1992
 * Pages: 56
 * Sales rank: 36,134
 * Age range: 4 - 8 Years
 * Lexile: 520L
 * Product dimensions: 8.68 (w) x 10.84 (h) x 0.42 (d)

// The Stinky Cheese Man // is a hilarious spin-off to the classic fairytale The Gingerbread Man. A little old man and woman were lonely so the little old lady decided she’d make a man out of cheese. She put him in the oven to cook and was taken aback by the awful smell. The Stinky Cheese Man hopped out of the oven and yelled “Run run run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me. I’m the Stinky Cheese Man!” The little old couple contemplated but decided they wouldn’t chase after him since he smelled terrible. Next, the Stinky Cheese Man ran into a cow, who also decided he would rather eat weeds than a smelly cheese man. The Stinky Cheese Man than ran into some children who too, decided they did not want to eat him so they didn’t chase after him. Finally, the Stinky Cheese Man came to a river without a bridge. A fox happened upon him and persuaded him to hop on his back and they would swim across. Once in the middle of the river, the fox sneezed and gagged over the awful stench of the Stinky Cheese Man, causing him to fly off his back and into the river where he fell apart.
 * Summary: **

// The Stinky Cheese Man // is such a great book. I chose this book because I loved it as a child. It’s a satirical story that requires the readers to have prior knowledge of the classic fairytale, The Gingerbread Man. I loved this story as a kid because it kept me guessing and laughing! //The Stinky Cheese Man// captivates its readers because of its satirical approach to fairytales and its dark yet vivid illustrations. Each page is filled with detailed illustrations with large and inviting fonts.
 * Book Review: **

The plot development of //The Stinky Cheese Man// follows the conventions of a classic fairytale. It begins with the introduction to the main character, the Stinky Cheese man. From there, the main character goes on a journey. The Stinky Cheese Man runs away. Next, the character encounters several supporting characters while on his journey. The Stinky Cheese Man runs into the cow, the children and the fox. From there the character is faced with a problem. In this case, the Stinky Cheese Man cannot cross the river. It is here that the author strays away from the conventions of the classic fairytale. Instead of living happily ever after, the Stinky Cheese Man does just the opposite; he falls into the river and falls apart. The author chose to follow the typical format of fairytales to enhance his satire. He played upon the repeated phrases by using “Run run run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me. I’m the Stinky Cheese Man!”. Instead of chasing after him like in typical fairytales, each character decides his odor is too foul and opts not to chase after him. By following the conventions of fairy tales, children are actively engaged in the plot development of the story since they are very familiar with how a typical fairytale unfolds. When the author strays away from the conventions of a fairytale, the children become amused and excited.
 * Literary Analysis: **

Jon Scieszka was born in Flint Michigan on September 8. 1954. He has five brothers and his grandparents were immigrants from Poland. Jon attended Columbia University where he earned his MFA in fiction. Eventually, Jon took on the role of being a teacher and has experience teaching 1st-8th grade. He took a year off of teaching to write children’s books after rediscovering his love for a young audience. Jon faced rejection from every publisher he showed his //A. Wolf’s Tale//. Finally, after years of rejection, a publisher fell in love with the story and eventually published the story with a new title, //The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!//. The story was a huge success, selling over 3 million copies and has been translated into 14 different languages. Currently, Jon is working on a large pre-school publishing program. He lives in New York with his wife Jeri and their two children Casey and Jake.
 * Author Bio: **

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