The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

GREAT! What other word can possibly come to mind reading The Stinky Cheese Man? I originally bought this book for my niece and nephew, Kayla and Greg. But before I gave it to them I read it myself and I simply could not stop laughing. The best way to describe this to parents and adults is: it's a combination of Rocky and Bullwinkle (working on two humor levels), Mad Magazine, Mother Goose, and absolute literary anarchy. If you're an adult and have any sense of humor whatsoever you're going to laugh out loud. The best way to describe this to parents is to quote Greg, 10, who, upon being told he'd get this book said: "GREAT! It has those funny stories and those crazy drawings. I love it!!" How did author Jon Scieszka and illustrator hit on a book that truly appeals to ALL ages? The book is a parody, moving visually and in its text as fast as a guided missle, but never for one millisecond underestimating the intelligence of its kid -- or adult -- readership. My Special 10 Year Anniversary Edition of this book contained a "Long Lost Stupid Fairy Tale" printed under the cover, the Boy Who Cried Cow Patty, a take off of the boy who cried "Wolf." (There is a less kid friendly version of this great story circulating on the internet). Once you open the book (and I will not give it all away) you are immediately comedically clobbered with the Little Red Hen, who can't wait until the title page is seen to start her story and is upset with the management. Fonts, page layout, are all satirized or exploited for maximum laughs. Any kid who has ever had a fairy tale read to him/her and looked at a typical fairy tale book will get the visual joke immediately. So this book is not only a book they can read but a book that will make them WANT to read MORE...and see that reading can truly be FUN. But it's the screamingly funny text and outrageously zany illustrations that have made this book a (well-deserved) legend. Even though it contains the alleged Surgeon General's stamp-disclaimer warning that it "has been determined that these tales are fairly stupid and probably dangerous to your health" these nutty stories are anything but dangerous. The bottom line is that they're comedy-parodies that make all ages think, but don't require a degree to get the joke. The book succeeds from its bonus tale printed under its book cover to its final silly page. Tales include Chicken Licken with its great ending (comedy coach Greg Dean writes that comedy is a "shattered assumption" and that's what we get here and it's FUN); The Princess and the Bowling Ball (take off on the Princess and the Pea); The Really Ugly Duckling (probably a truer version of this tale than has ever appeared before); the Other Frog Prince (the frog wants a kiss...but what is he??); Little Red Running Shorts; Jack's Bean Problem, Cinderumpelstiltskin; the Tortoise and the Hair; and the absolute all time classic The Stinky Cheese Man, a superb satire of the Gingerbread man with a laugh-out-loud ending. This book SHOULD be titled "The Stinkey Cheese Man and Other Absolutely Hilarious Witty Tales." If you like satire/parody and want your kids (or you) to read an upscale Mad-type take off on fairy tales, this book is for YEW! Now my only problem is: where can I HIDE this book after the kids read it, so I can keep it for myself???

I remember my elementary school teacher reading this to me as a kid and now I am reading it to my son and he just loves it! Makes for a good bedtime laugh.

I consider this to be one of the most punk rock children's books of the 90's (for as a kid in that time period, the fairy tales of old were deemed "un-cool" by that point). So when this came out, it was like a book we could all read and enjoy without the fear of being mercilessly made fun of on the playground (which was a big deal bag then)! That being said, I had some good memories of this book, and now that I have children, I was excited to buy this for my son to share the fun. Turns out, he loves the Stinky Cheese Man and often requests it for a bedtime story. Unfortunately, when I try to read some of the other stories, he always reverts back to the Stinky Cheese Man, but someday I'll get him to read the rest.

I have two boys who love gross things as young boys do and this book fits the bill, some good laughs around night night time

I love this book. It's an hysterical take on well known fairy tales. Kids will love it and adults will appreciate the fresh take on the classics. It makes a great gift for any kid.

First off, what kind of fun-hating monster rates this book one star? Reading comprehension people. If you don't like stupid humour, why on earth would you purchase this? It tells you up front, in the title, that the stories are stupid. You don't buy tickets to a movie expecting to watch a basketball game. But! FANS OF THE ABSURD, REJOICE! For here we have a tome of award-winning stupidity with illustrations to match. I first came into contact with this book when I was 16 in a math class. A classmate brought it to show to our teacher. The teacher loved it so much he made us stop doing work so he could read it aloud to us. One student laughed so hard she gave herself hiccoughs. LITERALLY. Such is the power of these Fairly Stupid Tales. Those of us who witnessed the reading went on to spread the word and the teacher went on to read the book to subsequent classes. It was not unusual to hear "Who will help me spell 'the wheat'?" or "What is that funky smell?" in the hallways. Soon, I was reliving Jack's Bean Problem for the entertainment of others. It was the best of times, it was the stupidest of times. Anywho, this book is really great for the eight and up crowd, as they are more developmentally capable of processing parody. But if your younger kids enjoy the Lego movies, they will probably enjoy The Stinky Cheese Man. Have a Spongebob fan? Get that kid a copy of the Stinky Cheese Man! This makes a great stick-extractor for that angsty teenager in your life. Just tell your brooder that this is a treatise on existentialism as interpreted by cubist chickens. If the book doesn't get a laugh, then you can at least find entertainment in their indignance.

What a great book! I wish I had found this in 1992 when it first came out. I would’ve bought it to read to my children. I’m going to wait a few years before reading it to my grandchildren, but I will definitely be reading it to them and letting them read it. I laughed at all the stories, I thought they were so clever!

A collection of popular fairy tales retold but in a twisted and funny way. So unless you know those fairy tales you wont understand the humor in it. But those are very popular ones, so it's likely that your kid knows the original stories. Recommended for 8+.

I bought this for our 3yo daughter for a bedtime story because she loves anything stinky or fart related (lol) and I remembered this book from my own childhood. She absolutely loves it and it has become the new champion book, having dethroned 'The Tiger Who Came To Tea'. As an adult some of the tales are a little bizarre, but the kid seems to enjoy them so who am I to judge? I would recommend for anyone with a strange sense of humour - a great little compilation of stories for quirky folk.

I can’t believe I found this book after so many years 😭 This was one of my favourite books as a child and I’d never let it go according to my mother lol! But it brought back so many memories ❤️😭

Read this book when I was a kid, now that I have a child I will read this book to them. It's so weird and really funny, I recommend it to those parents with a dark sense of humor

Lo adquirí por recomendación de un amigo quien tuvo acceso a él hace muchos años y quedó prendado de lo gracioso de las historias y del arte del libro. Excelente para niños y personas que se inician a leer en inglés.