16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Soupy is Super!, September 4, 2007
Judy Blume demonstrates once again that you don't need witches, fairies, dragons or princesses to create irresistible children's literature that will keep kids, as well as their parents, hungrily turning pages for more. Soupy Saturdays revisits eight-year-old Abigail and six-year-old Jake, two of my favorite Blume characters from her 1985 book The Pain and The Great One, and takes them through a series of daily-life tasks, such as getting haircuts, washing the dog, riding bikes and having sleepovers. But Abigail and Jake turn every seemingly banal event into a lesson-learning adventure: Jake's scared the barber will get too close to his ears with his scissors and cut them off, and Jake doesn't see any problem with using human shampoo on dogs. Meanwhile, Abigail is embarrassed to admit why she's scared to ride bikes, and she's angry at Jake for being home during her much-anticipated sleepover with her girlfriends. Although Abigail and Jake annoy each other at every turn, whether they know it or not, they actually help each other overcome the other's fears and grow closer in the process. They love each other like only siblings can, and any child reading this who has a brother or sister will easily relate to these characters' bouts of resentment, jealousy, and the constant worry that their parents love the other sibling more. The writing itself is perfect for the intended four-to-nine year old target audience--quick and easy to understand but totally hilarious and very vivid. And although nearly every page abounds with delightful illustrations (courtesy of James Stevenson), the physical format of the book is more like a bona fide chapter book than a picture book, which will give younger readers an enormous sense of accomplishment upon finishing it. I loved Soupy Saturdays and can't wait for the rest of the books in the series!
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SOUPY SATURDAYS evolves a fun set of brother/sister encounters., October 6, 2007
Judy Blume's SOUPY SATURDAYS WITH THE PAIN AND THE GREAT ONE offers up seven new stories centered around how brothers and sisters relate to one another. From math woes to parties and bike riding, SOUPY SATURDAYS evolves a fun set of brother/sister encounters.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it!, December 19, 2010
This is the first time I have read Judy Blume books, and I will most definitly buy some more. I teach 3rd grade bilingual and my students really enjoyed the book. Each morning they were eager to find out what "The Pain" and "The Great One" were up to. I also used this book for narrative writing, as an example of how it sounds and looks like. Overall, great book. The kids can relate to the daily adventures of brothers or sisters.
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