The main character is a girl named Camilla Cream who secretly loves lima beans but doesn't want to eat them because her friends dislike them and she wants to be just like them. One day she wakes up to discover thick, solid-colored stripes all over her body. The Family's physician, Dr. Bumble determines that Camilla is well enough to attend school. But when she arrives, most of the other children tease her and some of the other children call out colors and patterns which cause the colors on her skin to shift around. The school teachers worry that her condition may be contagious, so the principal sends her home. At home, Camilla goes through a number of increasingly preposterous metamorphoses such as turning into a pill after being given one, having viruses, bacteria and fungus colonies grow on her body after the community's expert scientists discuss these as a possible cause while examining her, growing roots, berries, crystals, feathers, and a long furry tail after receiving different medicine. Finally she melts and merges into her room after an environmental therapist tells her to “become one with the room”. Finally, an old lady persuades her to eat some lima beans. Camilla is afraid to admit her willingness to eat them at first, but after realizing that this could be her only hope to being cured, she allows the old woman to feed her them. Camilla is successfully reverted to a human and continues to eat lima beans; although her friends consider her strange for liking them, but she doesn't even care a bit. She enjoys being different and never has stripes again.
Kirkus Reviews found that "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." Another review said "This imaginative storyline expresses interesting aspects of peer pressure and self-esteem." and "Shannon's colored illustrations are vibrant and animated, and they show a particular talent for vividly portraying facial expressions." A 2004 study found that it was a common read-aloud book for fourth-graders in schools in San Diego County, California while based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named the book one of its "Teachers' Top 100Books for Children." It also received the 1999 Montana Treasure State Picture Book Award.
