The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (by Jon Scieszka)

What's going on? The Gingerbread Man is now the Stinky Cheese Man and no one wants to chase him. Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin star in the same story. The Ugly Duckling grows up and turns into a really ugly duck. A funny, farcical re-working of ten familiar fairy tales where even the typeface joins in on the mayhem.

A wild, irreverent, and extremely funny book -- for the right audience. Don't let the fairy-tale spin fool you; younger children may be confused about the strange twists to these well-known tales and by the offbeat illustrations. But for grades two to six, this book is like recess in the middle of a spelling test. These children will love the unusual layout, and the way the book pokes fun at classic stories and characters. The author and illustrator intentionally draw attention to book design with: a title page titled "The Title Page;" an upside-down dedication page; and an introduction that includes a Surgeon General's warning. Intermediate to advanced readers will get a kick out of the challenging dialogue and varying shapes and sizes of typeface.

As a read-aloud, it's fun for the whole family. When read to a group of kids and adults aged 5 to 35, the reaction was all giggles. The entire group -- particularly the older ones -- had fun recalling the original fairy tale and comparing it to the new version.

Author: Jon Scieszka
Illustrator: Lane Smith
Publisher: Penguin Group
Publication date: January 1, 1992
Number of pages: 56
Hardcover price: $16.99