Horn Book (Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 1998)

A girl obsessed with what people think about her contracts an ailment that literally turns her into whatever anyone--classmates, doctors, etc.--decides she should be. The story is heavy-handed, but the girl's graphically depicted symptoms, from multicolored stripes to twigs and other spiny appendages protruding from her body, contribute to the dark comedy of the retro-style paintings.

ALA Booklist (Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 1998)

Camilla, who loves lima beans but won't eat them because it's not cool, finds that deferring to others isn't all it's cracked up to be. In fact, her desire to please and be popular causes her some spectacular problems: she suddenly breaks out in stripes, then stars, then turns purple polka-dotty at the behest of a delighted classmate. Her weird mutations, which stymie doctors and send the media into a frenzy, become more and more extreme until she finally blends into the walls of her room--her lips the red-blanketed mattress on her bed, her eyes the paintings on the wall. Will she never be herself again? Shannon's over-the-top art is sensational, an ingenious combination of the concrete and the fantastic that delivers more than enough punch to make up for the somewhat heavy hand behind the story, and as usual, his wonderfully stereotypic characters are unforgettable. The pictures are probably enough to attract young browsers (Camilla in brilliant stripped glory graces the jacket), and the book's irony and wealth of detail may even interest readers in higher grades. Try this for leading into a discussion on being different. (Reviewed January 1 & 15, 1998)

Kirkus Reviews

Camilla Cream wants to fit in, so she conforms, denying herself the things she craves—lima beans, for example—if the other kids frown upon them. She wakes up one morning covered head to toe with party-colored stripes—not the state of affairs aspired to by a conventionalist, but it's only the beginning of her troubles. Her schoolmates call out designs and Camilla's skin reacts: polka dots, the American flag—poor Camilla was changing faster than you could change channels on a T.V.'' Specialists are called in, as are experts, healers, herbalists, and gurus. An environmental therapist suggests shebreathe deeply, and become one with your room.'' Camilla melts into the wall. It takes a little old lady with a handful of lima beans to set Camilla to rights. Shannon's story is a good poke in the eye of conformity—imaginative, vibrant, and at times good and spooky—and his emphatic, vivid artwork keeps perfect pace with the tale. (Picture book. 5-9)"