Blubber is a good name for her, the note from Wendy says about Linda. Jill crumples it up and leaves it on the corner of her desk. She doesn't want to think about Linda or her dumb report on the whale just now. Jill wants to think about Halloween.
But Robby grabs the note, and before Linda stops talking it has gone halfway around the room.
That's where it all starts. There's something about Linda that makes a lot of kids in her fifth-grade class want to see how far they can go -- but nobody, least of all Jill, expects the fun to end where it does.
A New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year
Blubber ANNOTATION Jill goes along with the rest of the fifth-grade class in tormenting a classmate and then finds out what it is like when she, too, becomes a target.
FROM THE PUBLISHER Blubber is a good name for her, the note from Caroline said about Linda. Jill crumpled it up and left it on the corner of her school desk. She didn't want to think about Linda or her dumb report on the whale just then. Jill wanted to think about Halloween.
But Robby grabbed the note and before Linda stopped talking it had gone halfway around the room.
That's where it all started. . . there was something about Linda that made a lot of kids in her fifth-grade class want to see how far they could go. . . but nobody, Jill least of all, expected the fun to end where it did. FROM THE CRITICS Publishers Weekly Judy Blume's body of work returns to her original editor, Richard Jackson, with the rerelease of four classics in hardcover. An African-American family moves to all-white Grove Street in Iggie's House, to be released in April. The author's breakthrough title, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, about 11-year old Margaret Simon's struggles with puberty and religion, is now available in hardcover as well as in a Spanish-language edition, Estas ahi Dios? Soy yo, Margaret. Two additional titles came out last season: Blubber takes on preteen teasing; and It's Not the End of the World explores the effects of divorce. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature - Jeanne K. Pettenati, J.D.
It is sometimes said that children can be cruel to each other. Recent books and movies have focused on the theme of classroom bullies. This book takes that theme and hits a home run with it. It doesn't sugar coat the ugly truth: bullies are relentless and their victims are left with scars. This realistic portrayal of a fifth-grade classroom in a Pennsylvania school will make some readers uncomfortable. They will recognize Wendy, the ringleader, and those other children who do her bidding. And they will recognize Linda, an overweight and unpopular child, who is their prey. When Wendy decides to pick on Linda, she calls on other classmates to help her do this dirty work. Soon, there is a gang of kids making Linda miserable. Wendy may not be liked, but she is feared. She wields this power of fear to do some heart breaking work. Although this book was originally published in the 1970s, its depiction of classroom bullies and the havoc they wreak on their victims will resonate with today's readers. It is a sad, but timely, topic. 2004 (orig. 1974), Dell Yearling/Random House Children's Books, Ages 9 to 12.
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