Customer Reviews

Fig Pudding

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent book! Told as a story by the narrator, we experience a little bit about each of his 4 brothers and 1 sister. Each one is a true character in every sense of the word, but at the same time, is very realistic. This is a very real family with characters that I just fell in love with. They are not always as nice as can be and they make mistakes - even the adults. We follow the family through a year in their lives (all from the point of view of the oldest child). There are ups and downs, but in the end everyone does love each other and is there to support each other.

This is a wonderful book about the enduring strength of family and the love and support that can be found in them. There are moments that will make the reader laugh at loud and others that will bring a tear to the eye of even the hardest individual. I truly wish this book had gained more recognition.

The opportunities for writing activities and discussions based on the book are endless with a little creativity. I fully intend on using this book in my classroom and hope others will as well. Like other Ralph Fletcher books, this is quality literature for students and adults - not simply a kid's book.

Why 5 stars?:
This book is incredibly well written with very real characteristics. It brings the reader through a variety of emotions as the narrator tells us about his family and the events that occur over the course of a year. The chance to engage students in sharing and discussing literature are excellent. I highly recommend this book for school libraries, and literature circles in the classroom. Parents should be encouraged to read this book with their children as a bonding experience of the discussions about family that will undoubtedly come out.

I just finished the book Fig Pudding. It is a great book. I was sad when Brad died because it touched my heart and all of the character's hearts too. My favorite part is when Uncle Eddie said,"Did you add a new ingredient?". It was funny. I wonder what book Ralph Fletcher likes the most? I wonder if this book was based on his real life? I wonder if he had a brother that died? The mood kept on changing in the story. That is why I liked it.

I first heard this book as a third grader- my teacher read it to our class. It loved it then: the characters were lovable, the writing was amusing and rich, and the story was captivating and memorable. So memorable that 8 years later, I borrowed this book from the library to reread and re-enjoy. I highly recommend this book to 3rd- 5th graders as a independent read or older kids for a quick read.

This book is hard to find in book stores, so buy online or borrow from the library.

Fig Pudding is one of the best book I have ever read. It touches your heart, makes you cry, makes you laugh. It is one I will read my kids. If you are thinking about buying, please do. It is worth every cent.

This was a wonderful book about feelings and family. I enjoyed the chapter Yidda Yadda wondering what little Josh was talking about. It broke my heart reading about Brad's death in a Steaming Bowl of Sadness. The analogy of Uncle Billy about the family being the Walking Wounded was an example of how one visualizes what we see and feel.

The book Fig Pudding is all about an eleven year old boy named Clifford Allyn Abernathy the third; who is the oldest of six kids. He narrates many short stories about his family, and the happy, sad, and tough times that they have. Being the oldest has some disadvantages says Clifford like having to be almost perfect, getting blamed if your little brother, or sister gets into trouble when you watch them. Some advantages for Cliff are not having to wear a baseball glove; he doesn't have any big brother or big sister to boss him around; he gets to stay up late, and he gets to listen to all the grown-up stuff. To me Fig Pudding was a great story because there is always something happening at the Abernathy house that makes you want to laugh or cry. I recommend Fig Pudding to anyone who doesn't have a happening life.

~ "Sometimes I feel more like a policeman then the eldest of six kids," says Cliff a boy who has four brothers and one sister and feels like he is the baby-sitter and can't do anything he wants to except make sure his siblings don't get in trouble. If they do he gets yelled at instead of them-that doesn't seem to fair to me!
~Cliff as you know has five siblings, all younger. Cliff is in fifth grade. Nate the next oldest is in forth grade. Cyn, the only girl is in third grade. Teddy, the trouble maker is in second grade. Brad, the sweet one is in first grade. And of course little Josh is only thr-ee.This book goes through a year of events and goes back in time on Christmas up until the last none -the greatest one yet. Each sibling has a big thing they're going through, from thinking your part of another family, to getting really hurt, this story made me laugh , cry, made me feel guilty and many more feelings came to me, you can feel too.
~I love this book so much, in fact, so much I read it three times! My favorite part was when an accident happened, and Cliff couldn't cry and he felt guilty. When his uncle takes him and Nate to the beach, he says, "When something bad happens, you are handed a big bowl of steaming hot sadness. You can eat it all up right away, or you can save it for latter and let it cool, no matter what you'll eat the whole thing." That's my favorite part because it's very true, and it makes me think about it, and peoples bowls can be different sizes depending on how close you are to the situation, like his mom probably got the biggest bowl and so on. What made me think about that is Cliff talks about how close his family is to him, he says his family is like the million of blankets on you in the winter, Nate is his closest blanket, then Cyn, Teddy, Brad and then Josh. He can't feel the ones on top but he knows they're keeping him warm. That's another favorite part of mine. I also love this book because I had a lot of connections to it. I'm the eldest of three kids, I always have to watch over them, and I feel the same way as Cliff. Even the little things I can connect to, like when he gets a fishing pole, he pretends to fish in the grass -I do that with my brother and sister on a big hill in the back yard of our time share, right across the street from Mirror Lake.
~I highly recommend this book to anyone who would love to laugh, cry, and have a great time in one fantastic novel, and Ralph Fletcher is just as fantastic so read Fig Pudding!

This is one of my favorites. It's a little old for the third graders I teach, due to the tragedy in the middle of the book, but it's great for older children and fabulous for adults. It has one of the most touching views on tragedies I've ever read and I quote it often.

Fig Pudding made me feel like reading more. In each chapter there was a new feeling. I wonder how Mr.Fletcher thought of these brilliant ideas to put in the chapters? I would love to read the sequel to Fig Pudding because I know that Mr.Fletcher will have some great ideas. I would like to know, were some of the characters in the story in his life, like Uncle Eddie? It was really sad when Brad died because everyone really cared about him and loved him. I thought it was funny when Uncle Eddie said,"Did you put some new ingredients in the Fig Pudding?" because Josh's shoe fell in it. I'd like to know if Mr. Fletcher is writing a new book and what is the title? This is one of my favorite books I've read because it changed my mood and that's what I like about reading. I wonder how Mr. Fletcher thought of writing this nice book? If I were Brad I would have told my father that I can't give away the tackle box. I've only read two books by Ralph Fletcher and I know I will enjoy reading more and more books by Ralph Fletcher. Fig Pudding is in my top three favorite books. This book is one of my classes favorite books!

I thourghly enjoyed reading 'Fig Pudding'. It was really neat how the author used some of his own life experiences in the book. What the family did what happened in the in the story was unpredictable!

The best part of the book was in chapter nine. While Teddy was getting out of the car he stepped right into the container of fig pudding. His dad said that since he had on a pair of brand new shoes, it was okay. the family walked inside and never said a word about it.

I really liked the climax of the book, I never saw it comming. Because of the tone of the story it really suprised me. I also liked the theme. The story is about six children and their parents. It is told in the perspective of the oldest child, Cliff (11 years old). He tells about what it is like living with five siblings and what goes on in their lives.