Absolutely hilarious. I remember my dad and I reading this book repeatedly. We both loved it. New fairy tales, and new takes on old fairy tales, this book is hilarious. The illustrations are unique and really bring out the quirkiness of this book. It's quite obvious why it won the Caldecott: you can't not like it! ( )

The hen starts to tell her story too early - on the endpage before the title is even announced! How funny. The first 'fairly stupid' tale is of Chicken Little, er Licken, who of course, thinks its the sky thats falling....but the story is interrupted because Jack the Narrator forgot the table of contents. Wait, actually, the table of contents is the thing falling....and it falls on everybody. Then the book has to start all over again! Scieszka and Smith had me laughing out loud with their renditions of the Princess & the Pea (bowling ball), The (Really) Ugly Duckling, The (Other) Frog Prince, Little Red Running Shorts (which Jack the narrator messes up), Jack's Bean Problem (the giant messes that one up), Jack's story (not sure who ruined that neverending one, but Jack definitely gets the short end of the stick), and on and on. I just recently read the kids at school the gingerbread man, so I greatly enjoyed reading 'The Stinky Cheese Man". At the end of the book, the red hen comes back and wakes up the giant. When she challenges everyone to eat her bread, she gets another thing coming....THE END.

Fantasy
Art: illustrations rendered in oil and vinegar ( )

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales follows the grand tradition of children's writing of pervasive metahumor. Like Animaniacs and other shows, The Stinky Cheese Man manages to become as enjoyable read for adults as it is for the children they're reading to. Slapstick humor and explosive artwork will grab the children's attention, while subtle jabs at culture and the nostalgia of slightly twisted fairy tales will have the adults laughing along with the kids. The metahumor goes so far as to make the book self aware, with characters interrupting the front matter, the table of contents confirming Chicken Licken's doomspeak. This is a great book for the whole family. ( )

Booklist starred (Vol. 89, No. 1 (September 1, 1992))
Horn Book starred (Fall, 2002)
Kirkus Review starred (1992)
All the above reviews can be read on Title Wave: http://www.flr.follett.com/search?SID...