A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon tells the story of Camilla Cream, who loves lima beans but never eats them because she wants to fit in with her friends, who all hate lima beans. On the first day of school, Camilla finally decides what to wear and gets dressed, looks in the mirror, and realizes that she is covered in stripes of all colors.
Kids laugh at Camilla, the media follows her, and all kinds of cures are tried and fail, until one woman visits her and tells her to eat lima beans. Camilla admits that she loves them, eats them, and is cured. “I knew the real you was in there somewhere,” the woman tells Camilla.
Raising questions about identity, conformity, authenticity and friendship, as well as about causation and knowledge, the book’s vivid illustrations and story are captivating.
Jana Mohr Lone is the director and founder of the University of Washington Center for Philosophy for Children, an academic research center dedicated to research and practice in philosophy for children and philosophy of childhood, and she is an Affiliate Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Washington. Jana is the author of Seen and Not Heard (2021) and The Philosophical Child (2012). She co-authored the textbook Philosophy in Education: Questioning and Dialogue in Schools (2016) and co-edited the collection of essays Philosophy and Education: Introducing Philosophy to Young People (2012). Since 1995 she has taught philosophy in classrooms from preschool to college and beyond. A frequent writer and speaker about precollege philosophy, Jana is the founding president of PLATO (Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization) and the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Questions: Philosophy for Young People. Follow her on Twitter: @JanaMohrLone