David Shannon is an author of numerous children's books. He was born on October 5, 1959, and grew up in the state of Washington. He studied illustration at The Art Center College of Design and now lives in Los Angeles, CA. Many of his books include; "Duck on A Bicycle", " David Goes to School", "Too Many Toys", and "A Bad Case of Stripes".
"A Bad Case of Stripes" is a children's book written and illustrated by David Shannon. It was originally published by Blue Sky Press in the year of 1998.
Many grade-schoolers like Camilla often become more self-conscious at such a young age. True, we desire to look nice for others, seeking each other's opinions. But do not let others define who you truly are, and to not let your popularity go too far. Camilla went to the extremes of not eating her favorite food. However, unlike her friends in the story, I don't judge her for liking them. She learned to accept who she is and to embrace her weirdness. We all have our likes and dislikes, and we should not judge each other by our personal dislikes or shun others.
When I was young, this message was not entirely clear, now that I am nearly eighteen years old, it is much more obvious that the main message of this book is to just be yourself, not to let others define who you truly are and to not take other people's opinions true to heart.
An undiscussed topic for "A Bad Case of Stripes" that is unknown is the time; the period it takes place in. Here is my belief on that; by studying the illustrations that David Shannon provided, I came up with numerous possibilities: ranging from the mid-1940s, 1950s, 1960s and possibly the 1970s and into the 1980s - 1990s.
My Findings:
In the book, it appeared that the girls wore dresses or skirts, that can be a huge factor for the decade, while also considering technological advancements.
-They had microphones, which were used during the early 1920s,
- News vans for the news were used since 1938.
-about the news vans, many of them had a satellite dish. The satellite dish was not invented until 1976. And hence, they were on the news vans.
***However, due to my 11/19/2019 findings, I have found that the first CONUS 1 Satellite truck was not invented until 1984 by a broadcaster named Stanley S. Hubbard. ***
- The Cream family had a Television, which was invented in the early 1920s indicating that they had electricity. So it could have taken place in the 1920s into the late 1940s into the 1970s and 1980s.
So, the general range for the time is the 1920s to 1990s.
I also have to guess the ages of some of these characters, such as Camilla. I have read an article online that stated that Camilla Cream was a girl in her early teens, so she would be about twelve, thirteen, possibly even fourteen years old.
Along with "A Bad Case of Stripes", I have read "No, David", "David Goes to School" and "Too Many Toys". The illustration difference between "David" and "A Bad Case of Stripes" is quite startling. I know what Mr. Shannon is trying to accomplish in "No David", as I have read in an interview that the "David" books were based on the stories that he had written when he was a young boy. As an adult, he tried to draw the illustrations as if he was a 5-year-old again, which can make a being quite disproportionate. David has a round head, beady eyes, a huge mouth, sharp teeth and a triangular nose, which is rather unsettling for me. "A Bad Case of Stripes", on the other hand, has a more friendly feel to it. The illustrations look less "sketchy and disproportionate" than "David", the characters appear to be more realistic, yet still have that David Shannon style to it. In the first illustration of "A Bad Case of Stripes", the one I remember the most, depicts Camilla looking in a mirror, trying to find something decent to wear for the first day of school. Her face says it all, " So many things to wear, but none of it looks right on me."
David Shannon and I have several things in common, we love art, but we hate lima beans. I have tried lima beans. They were so awful that I had to drink pickle juice with them! Camilla Cream will always be the most popular character in my opinion and David Shannon will always be my favorite author from my childhood. I thank him for writing these wonderful books and for making them so memorable. David Shannon was a huge part of my early childhood. If it wasn't for him, " A Bad Case of Stripes" wouldn't have existed. He truly made it so wonderful and magical, to find a little bit of good in the world, to believe in the power of imagination, and his main purpose; to send powerful messages through his books.
I wish that Shannon can write another book about Camilla. She is one of my most favorite storybook characters of all time. I have tried to draw this character, but it turns out kind of messy; I just can't get her eyes or nose right. I suppose that no one can draw Camilla as well as David Shannon.
I asked myself, "What was Camilla's life after A Bad Case of Stripes?" So, I decided to write my own story. With the information listed above, I am currently writing my own sequel to "A Bad Case of Stripes"; it is titled "When Time Flies". By studying the storyline, character traits, and clues to the time (decade) of which the story takes place in the original book, I could write my own version of Camilla's life but still give credit to David Shannon.
CHARACTERS:
The characters includes Camilla, her parents Frank (Mr. Cream) and Shirley (Mrs. Cream), her classmates Daniel Fuller (blond boy to the right of Camilla on pg. 4 of the book), Martha Turner (blond-haired girl on Camilla's left on pg. 4), Christopher Sampson (boy on the very left of pg. 4), Jordan Bond (African American boy on pg. 4) Helen Dillard, Amelia Cunningham (Haley Mills) and Lynda Cartwright (Susan Gordon). In the story, Camilla has a boyfriend named Alfred Mitchell and they get married when they were 19; and they had five children, Karen, Susan, Franklin, Carlotta, and Mary. It is currently a work-in-progress.
