Allard, H. (1974). The
stupids step out. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Bookspot.com’s Challenged
Books List
The Stupids
series of books by Harry Allard was placed on the Challenged Books List because
critics felt the books describe families in a derogatory manner, may encourage
children to be disobedient, and promote low self-esteem and negative behavior. But when you read The Stupids Step Out, the first in the series, you can easily see
that Stanley, Mrs., Buster, and Petunia Stupid are not promoting their
stupidity – they are not really even smart enough to do that. It is simply just a comical book depicting a
goofy family of misfits who does everything wrong or backwards. They try to go up the stairs using the
banister, take a bath in their clothes with no water, put stockings on their ears,
eat mashed potato sundaes with butterscotch syrup, and sleep in clown outfits
in bed all together with their heads by the foot board. There is no hidden meaning or agenda in the
story; Harry Allard just writes a humorous story about a dimwitted family and
their antics, and James Marshall illustrates those antics in a fitting manner,
both in an attempt to give their readers a good chuckle.
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