Saturday, October 24, 2009

Friend or Fiend? with the Pain & the Great One by Judy Blume

Blume, Judy. Friend or Fiend? with the Pain & the Great One, illustrations by James Stevenson. 111 pgs. Delacorte Press, 2009. $12.99. Content – G.

The Pain (Jake) and the Great One (his older sister Abigail) are back again. Jake’s in first grade and he misreads a word in class and everyone teases him. He says “fiend” instead of “friend.” Jake decides that his friends are now fiends, especially when Justin dresses up as a fiend for Halloween. Friend or fiend is the theme that loosely ties this book of vignettes together. The story is alternately narrated by the Pain, the Great One, and their cat Fluzzy. The ink drawings perfectly illustrate the siblings’ squabbles and adventures. Recommend this series to fans of Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park.

EL – ADVISABLE. Samantha, Public Librarian

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