Customer Reviews

Soup

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this book somewhat by chance in my local library. It looked interesting...sort of like a modern version of Tom Sawyer, and that's exactly what it was. Boys in particular will love these books, because they chronicle the life of boys as it really exists - dirt, worms, clubhouses, alternately loving/hating girls, playing pranks, and just generally getting into and out of various and sundry mischief.

"Soup" is essentially an autobiographical account of author Robert Newton Peck's experiences growing up in rural Vermont in the 1920s. While he has no doubt greatly embellished these accounts to make them larger than life in these books, they are enormously fun and charming nonetheless. The young Peck (Rob in the stories) recounts life with his best pal "Soup", so named because he is embarrassed by his real name (Luther) and only comes running when his mother makes the dinner call of "Soup's On!" Hence, his nickname Soup became a permanent ID and also the namesake for this wonderful series of books. Soup is the mischievious ringleader in most of the misadventures, with Rob the younger and more naive sidekick.

My son loved these stories as I read them aloud to him. For road trips, we would find some books from the "Soup" series on tape and listen to those, and they invariably made the miles go faster.

As a parent, I loved the stories not only because they are hysterically funny, but because they are nostalgic and take me back to my own childhood when the pace of life was slower, things were simpler, and children were somehow less worldly wise, without the craving for 24/7 electronic stimulation. Sigh.

Peck imparts a wholesomeness to us in these books and my child never complained that the stories were sappy or lame. We both loved the recurring characters from book to book, such as the boys' teacher, and the portly Miss Bolund, the school nurse who shows up in her tiny, highly unreliable car at regular intervals. There's also the school bully - who happens to be a girl - and can whump just about any boy in the county.

Very occassionally (as in once or twice) there is content that some parents may find slightly objectionable - such as the boys experimenting with smoking or swearing. However, as a christian parent I never found any of these things problematic because the context was always quite clear that what the boys were doing was wrong and the book never comes across as condoning such behavior. It's more like the stories we've heard of kids who try smoking, only to end up turning green and vowing never to touch the foul things again. So, think in terms of Mark Twain...not something that tries to be "hip" by being PG-13, or going to the other extreme and bending over backwards to be politically correct and preachy.

In summary, I whole-heartedly recommend these books. There are a dozen or more in the series. They build on a fine tradition first given to us by Mark Twain in "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn," portraying boyhood the way it was and forever should be.

I'm a retired sixth grade teacher; after lunch I'd read to my class. It was a way of settling them down and to bring non- academic books into their lives. Of course, it was also my intent to show the joy to be found in books other than those required in class. For many of the children, no one every read a book to them outside of the school environment.

As much as I tried to read with much expression and passion, I knew it was a foreign experience to just listen to a story for some of them. When other children started laughing and, on occasion, the teacher had to stop reading and wipe the tears of laughter away in order to continue (Soup books), it drew in the children who began to realize this was something to embrace.

Of course, there are others favorites with a serious bent that are also my favorites. My daughter asked me for a list of books to read to her six year old for now and in the future. I started with the humorous ones such as the above mentioned "Soup" books.

Soup is a funny book. It`s all about a boy called "Robert" and his best friend "Soup". The Book is so good I couldn't take it out of my hands. The adventures that these 2 boys have are cool. For examle,Rob and Soup tied Rob`s aunt to a tree right before a storm hit and they got in big trouble. You should really read this book.

I have just finished reading the book Soup. I loved the book. It delt with two third graders and how they always got into troule. The main characters are: Robert, Soup, mamma, aunt Carrie, Mrs. Stetson, and Mr. Diskin.

Some things they did was break the church window, cheat Mr. Diskin, and smoke corn.

This is truley one of the best books I have ever read in my life!

were never this good. Frankly, I remember getting into trouble, but never for any of the stuff shown in this book. Not one story as much as a series of short stories, never more than a few pages long, about Robert and his friend Luther, better known as Soup. Set in Vermont in the 1920s, with lots of humor and even some sadness.

It was easy to get my daughter to read, I just remembered all of my favorite childhood authors. Then I taught my first son to read, he wasn't interested. These books keep him engaged. Soup is old-fashioned fun

I first checked this book out of the library when I was about 12 for a road trip I would be taking with my family. My mom ended up reading the book outloud to us all in the car and we laughed clear through the state of Texas. It was pure unadulterated fun that sure helped the time go by.

I just read an exciting book called Soup. It was written by Robert Newton Peck. This book has 96 pages in it. I chose to read this book because I read the back cover, and it looked pretty interesting. I thought this because even on the back cover the trouble started immediately. The main characters in this book were "Soup" (obviously) and Robert. Soup was a nickname for Luther. Luther Wesley Vinson. Both Soup and Robert had blonde hair and usually wore knickerbockers. Soup and Robert got into trouble so often that it seemed like their job by the end of the book. I am guessing that this book was based in Texas during the author's childhood, but it did not say. I have assumed this because Soup and Robert use improper English throughout the book, for instance: reckon and aint. I'm also guessing that it was summer, but once again, it didn't say. I'm assuming this because the book usually described that the days were very hot. There were about as many problems in this book as there were chapters (10)! The problem in the first chapter was that Robert had a note sent home from the teacher because Robert made a rude remark to the nurse. Robert and Soup escaped so that Robert only got a slight thrashing. One of Robert and Soup's main hobbies were throwing apples off of sticks. In chapter two Soup bet that he could hit one of the church bells. Soup missed and hit the stained glass on the church and broke it. Robert escaped, but Soup was caught. He was shown no mercy and was very strongly whipped. In chapter three a bully talked Robert into tying his aunt Carrie to a tree. A storm started and Robert couldn't untie his aunt. As lightning cracked, Robert ran inside to get knife. Robert eventually cut his aunt loose and once again got a whipping. Over all I think that this was a pretty good book except that it had a predictable ending. .I recommend this book to anyone who has a little spare time or anyone who likes a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This is a fairly nostalgic look at the author's childhood, well-written and funny... kinda like The Great Brain series, but set in a later decade.

The chapters are self-contained stories, which makes it possible to skip over any you find problematic. There's one chapter where the kids make acorn pipes and smoke cornsilk - they get incredibly sick, and it's highly unlikely that any child will decide to emulate them.

There's another one where the children get it into their head that they MUST see the double feature movie, and since they don't have the money they decide to trade in their foil for cash. Lacking enough foil, they decide to cheat the man who owns it, because one of them was told that it's okay to cheat Jews. It's pretty clear from the discussion (how this man is nice and always jokes with them) and from the aftermath (they get paid full price, but there are no smiles and the stone they wrapped the foil over is given back to them, so they know they got caught and aren't being punished, a shameful thing) that they feel guilty and that, in fact, it's not okay to go around cheating anybody... but it's not stated outright and either way, understandably, many parents and especially teachers aren't going to want to bring this issue up at all. I strongly suggest that you read this book before you buy it.

I liked this book quite a bit other than the chapter where they cheat their friend, however, it's so serious that I felt I had to take a star off for that.

Soup was a good book.I gave it a 4. I gave it that because it was surprising, exciting, and enjoyable. it was surprising because you never knew what they were going ti do next.They always did something wierd.It was exciting because they always did something you and other kids would ever even think of doing. It was enjoyable because it wasn't boreing. You could sit back and enjoy it. I think it is a good book for 6th to 8th graders. I think that because it is not hard to read, and it is not easy to read for little kids.