Parents' Guide to

Blubber

By Barbara Schultz, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Honest novel shows brutality of grade school bullying.

Book Judy Blume School 1974
Blubber Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 11+

Based on 9 parent reviews

eli44
eli44 Adult
May 15, 2013
age 12+

watch out - bad language

I loved this book as a kid and was about to give it to my third grader. I started reading it and was surprised to see that very early on in the book a child calls the teacher a "bi*ch!" This should have been in the summary above!

This title has:

Too much swearing
2 people found this helpful.
Janet C.
Janet C. Parent
June 24, 2017
age 14+

Don't Waste Your Time

This book is awful. There's an incident where they try to strip a girl in the bathroom. Inappropriate!
1 person found this helpful.
See all 9 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Written in 1974, BLUBBER gives a brutally honest look at bullying among grade school kids. After a girl named Linda gives an oral report to her fifth grade class on the Eskimos' use of whale blubber, the other students begin teasing Linda by calling her "Blubber." Jill, the narrator of the novel, goes right along with the bullies but later realizes that the mean kids are not necessarily her true friends. When she becomes the object of bullying herself, she finds ways to cope.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (9):
Kids say (11):

Blubber is a painful book to read because the children in the novel are so cruel to one another. However, it's an extremely honest and realistic view of kid behavior that's worth examining by parents and middle-grade children. The novel does not spell out moral lessons for kids, but it teaches them by portraying truly repugnant behavior. The characters are believable, if not too likable, and the story is logical and entertaining. Judy Blume proves a reliable source for insight into the kids' world, and shows the value of true friendship and courage under peer pressure.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what they learn about bullying from reading Blubber. How would you behave if you were Jill? Is it just as wrong to go along with mean behavior as it is to instigate it?

  • Why do you think this book is an enduring classic, yet often challenged for its candid portrayal of mean grade school behavior?

  • Does Jill seem to have learned a lesson about bullying by the end of the book?

Book Details

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