Blubber

Blume, J. (1974). Blubber. New York: Dell Publishing.

Plot Description: Jill is just having fun when she joins in with Wendy and the rest of her classmates in picking on Linda, or as everyone calls her, Blubber. At first she doesn’t really participate but then really gets into making Blubber’s life miserable. It isn’t until the tides change and Jill is the brunt of all the jokes that she realizes maybe picking on others isn’t so great.

Genre: Friendship, Realistic Fiction

Age Group: This book would be appropriate for grades 4-7.

Series Information/Similar Books: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Freckly Juice, and Iggie’s House all by Judy Blume.

Personal Thought: This book teaches a very good lesson on bullying and is a must read for all those that think bullying is cool.

Subject/Themes: Bullying

Character Description: Jill is a fifth grader. Her best friend is Tracy Wu.

Linda is also a fifth grader in Jill’s class and is slightly overweight. She is constantly picked on by everyone in the class and referred to as “Blubber”. She does not stand up for herself and lets her classmates constantly berate her.

Kenny is Jill’s brother who is in fourth grade. He loves spouting off facts from the Guinness Book of World Records.

Wendy is the most popular girl in Jill’s fifth grade class and is the leader on all the attacks on Linda.

Annotation: Jill thinks life is great in fifth grade and she is having a great time picking on Linda until things change and Jill gains a new perspective on bullying.