I am not a huge David Shannon fan, yet I do recommend him as the style can be quirky, funny and even serious with a moral (but not all the time). And A Bad Case of Stripes and The Rain Came Down are pure Shannon. (Though Rain has help with Bruce Bailey Johnson if you choose the audio version with a paper copy of the book). And yes, I have read all the books in the image, but I picked two that grabbed me.
In Stripes our young heroine Camilla Cream loves lima beans. But she is also super conscious of what others think of her, so she never eats them (as other do not like them). Then comes the day when her worries take over and she breaks out in a bad case of the stripes. And horns and feathers and you name it, she gets it! You must watch out what you say, as Camilla will turn into some crazy things because of it! The moral of the story is of course, be yourself, eat those lima beans and try not to worry about what others think. Shannon’s text and illustrations illustrate this in boldly bright and busy images.
And with Rain we get a “The House that Jack Built” idea when it is a raining day. The rain comes causing chickens to squawk, dogs to bark and babies to cry. Not to mention the traffic and people getting all tangled up. Everything keeps building up on the last thing while everyone is grumpy and arguing. That is, until something special happens. I was not as pleased with this book as others I have read (I do enjoy his Duck series, and Stripes was fun, Pirate will catch your child, but the No David series and I are not friends). But this book has some fun images and goodies that will make you smile and brighten the day.
These books are for older children, (about aged 5 and up) but younger children can read the illustrations. Shannon is an acquired taste, but they are worth at least a once read and even if one book is not your cup of tea, another might be.