The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

The Caldecott Honor Book The Stinky Cheese Manand Other Fairly Stupid Tales has not lost one ounce of its wisecracking, cheeky humor in the past decade. In fact, the only thing about this "Deluxe Limited Special Never Before Never Again Extra Stuff 10 Year Anniversary Edition" that's different from the original is the dust jacket--but it's a very special dust jacket, as narrator Jack is quick to point out. Turn it inside out and discover the long-lost story of "The Boy Who Cried Cow Patty" and the numbers that fell off the table of contents. Open the book to be privy to John Scieszka and Lane Smith's irreverent variations on well-known fairy-tale themes, in which the ugly duckling grows up to be an ugly duck, and the princess who kisses the frog wins only a mouthful of amphibian slime. The Stinky Cheese Man deconstructs not only the tradition of the fairy tale but also the entire notion of a book. Our naughty narrator, Jack, makes a mockery of the title page, the table of contents, and even the endpaper by shuffling, scoffing, and generally paying no mind to structure. Characters slide in and out of tales; Cinderella rebuffs Rumpelstiltskin, and the Giant at the top of the beanstalk snacks on the Little Red Hen. There are no lessons to be learned or morals to take to heart--just good, sarcastic fun that smart alecks of all ages will love. (All ages)