The Stupids Die

Title: The Stupids Die
Written by: Harry Allard
Illustrations by: James Marshall

Summary: The story depicts the Stupid family, which you may guess, is not the typical family. In this volume of the series, the Stupids face tackle the issue of death. Once the lights are turned off in the home, the Stupids face emptiness. The only logical explanation for the Stupids is that they are all dead. However, once the lights return the Stupids believe that they are in heaven.

Opinion: While the book can be considered controversial due to the name of the family and to what appears to be the overall pointlessness to the story, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The zaniness is comparable to the Amelia Bedelia  series and seems to be all in good fun. The story is outrageous enough to keep students turning pages (eating dinner with your feet is considered "good" manners) and the pictures are filled with enough humor to encourage children to really explore the illustrations in depth.
The literary elements of the story were used in line to help create the humor. The seemingly normal nuclear family, in the normal suburban home were perfectly played to create such mayhem. (The story wouldn't have been as funny if it was some irregular setting or irregular characters). While most of my classmates disliked The Stupids, I am all for them. Never dull or didactic, they will have you rolling on the floor with laughter! DUH!