The Stupids Die

Title: The Stupids Die

Author: Harry Allard

Illustrator: James Marshall

Picture book for ages (approximately) 7 and up

Rating: 1of 5 stars

Summary:

This book tells a story about the Stupid family and how they think they’ve died when the lights go out in their home.

Opinion:

I find the story told in this book to  be totally pointless. This book is supposed to be humorous, but I found it mean spirited, uninteresting, and shallow. This book aims to get kids to laugh at and make fun of this family for their unintelligent conversations and actions. There are no good morals or reasons to read this and in fact I feel it even promotes teasing and bullying.

The illustrations in this book are equally boring. There is nothing exciting about these pictures. Few colors are used and little detail is given. Additionally, all characters are portrayed as overweight and fairly unattractive. What kind of message is that sending?

I would never use this book in my classroom. It is not valuable literature and I feel that it promotes qualities in children that are highly undesirable such as teasing and mockery.