Blubber (Paperback)

~ (Author) "It's very foolish to laugh if you don't know what's funny in the first place..." (more)
Key Phrases: smelly whale, stamp company, Miss Rothbelle, Great Maudie, Baby Brenner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From 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 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Judy Blume's considerable gifts of humor, readability, and child appeal mask her other vocation as teller of moral tales."
-- The New York Times (New York Times ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Yearling; One Previous Yearling edition (August 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440407079
• ISBN-13: 978-0440407072
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,239 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wake up and smell the coffee, November 6, 2001

By A Customer

I'm in the sixth grade and guess what? Real life is like this book! In fact, in my class, it's been like that for a while now. Adults may think it is cruel, mean, even horrifying how badly Wendy and all of the others treat Linda, but in reality, thousands of kids are tormented and teased everyday, and not just for being overweight. The teacher and parents in this book did act a little naive, but I got Judy Blume's point. I also can understand Jill, the bystander who gets pulled into the teasing of Linda. Wendy never gets what she deserves, but that is also a lesson that teachers and faculty should punish children like her. Overall, I thought this was an excellent book and totally got Judy Blume's point. I picked up this book because it was by Judy Blume and was not disappointed.
Oh, and about the swears. Have you ever heard a conversation between two 11 or 12 year olds? Kids swear a lot these days.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A realistic look at bullying and peer pressure., March 20, 2000

By A Customer

Kids can be cruel. It's a cliche, but it most certainly has some truth behind it. And no author better portrayed the mentality behind bullying better than Judy Blume did in "Blubber." The protaganist of "Blubber", Jill, is just an average girl who joins her class in the persecution of an overweight girl, Linda. She goes along with this persecution because she wants to fit in with her classmates and because of the sheer "fun" of it. It's real life, and anyone who has experienced Junior High School will recognize this vicious cycle of bullies, follow-the-leaders, and victims.

This is not a sitcom. There is no contrived happy ending or clear-cut victory for anyone. Linda is not a particularly likeable character. The ringleader of the bullies, Wendy, never gets her comeuppence. It's real life. Bullies get away with being creeps, and not every victim is a wonderful person. "Blubber" is a disturbing, but honest book.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BLUBBER is a PHAT book to read!!, November 26, 2001

By	Dana (Middleburgh,NY) - See all my reviews

Judy Blume is the author of Blubber. It takes place in Mrs. Minish's classroom in 5th grade. It begins in Mrs. Minish's class while they were doing their reports. This one student, Linda Fischer, did a report on whales. She mentioned that whales have a thick layer of blubber that keep them warm and being that she was kinda of chubby all the kids called her Blubber from then on. Jill, protagonist, Caroline, and Wendy, antagonist always made fun of her and did mean things to her. In the bathroom they made her take off most of her cloths and another time they made her eat chocolate covered ants. The teacher was out of the room most of the time, so they were able to play around a lot. Well it turns out that Wendy using Linda and acts like her friend just to get Jill mad just because of some incident that happened at Halloween. Tracy and Jill stayed best friends. Caroline and Donna were still friends and Wendy and Linda became friends. I thought this book was good over all because is showed what really goes on in school when the teacher isn't around and that you can't always trust your friends. I would recommend this book to 5th graders because it is easy reading and tells you about things that 5th graders like to do to other classmates.