Rating: 
Summary: Yes, children can be VERY cruel..
Review: THIS NEW COVER DOES NOT DO THE BOOK JUSTICE! The cover on my edition was a detailed oil painting showing the book's major players inside their classroom by a very talented artist whose name I'll remember when I dig the book out of the storage box <heh>.I was the favorite subject to most bullies. This was a profound story. I read later that this book became the required textbook reading for many up-and-coming elementary/middle-school teachers so that they could spot the danger signs and put a stop to bullying within their own classrooms.
Contrary to popular belief, not all bullies are insecure idividuals looking for acceptance and high self-esteem. Wendy was bright, she was funny, beautiful, and VERY charming. When more adults, such as myself, can understand that it is not always the social outcasts that we need to worry about, will we live a little better and with those around us. To All Teachers: I worked as a substitute teacher, so I can recommend this in a professional manner. No matter your grade level, if you were not required to read this, than PLEASE read it on your own. It is not just an entertaining YA novel. Bullying is a serious problem. From articles I've read, it causes more school absences, classroom disturbances, and psychological torment than many other childhood problems.
If you were not bullied when you were a kid, read it. If you were bullied, read it( though in our case, it might bring back some painful memories). And if you are a parent: please read it. The bully you stop becomes many children saved.
Rating:
Summary: BLUBBER is a PHAT book to read!!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Wake up and smell the coffee
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: One of Blume's Best
Review: This book is an excellent examination of classroom social structure. In middle school, just about every kid is a ringleader, a follower, or a victim. This book illustrates, without softening the subject matter, exactly how cruel kids can be. It also shows that just because someone is a victim, doesn't mean they are a nice person. Linda is not terribly likeable; similarly, the man who gets his mailbox egged is mean and spiteful. I salute Judy for not taking the "sit-com" easy out, of making Jill appologize to Linda and become friends. She simply saves her butt, and continues on as normal. This is what would really happen, and anyone who says otherwise, clearly doesn't remember their younger days. (Either that, or they were one of the ringleaders, and oblivious to the fluctuations of those lower on the social totem pole). The book is not supposed to come around pat and teach a "Goofus and Gallant" type lesson. It's supposed to show the reality of being that age, and help kids see that they aren't alone. It also gets kids thinking about how they feel about the situation, so that maybe (just maybe) they'll act more like Tracey and less like Jill, if the opportunity presents itself (and believe me it will).
Rating: 
Summary: The Unfortunate Truth....
Review: I read this book years and years ago when I was about "Linda"'s age (I'm now 30) and it certainly hit home. In fact, I reread it a couple of years ago when I found it in a box of old books and the realism of Blume's fifth-grade world came flooding back. I was, unfortunately, one of the "fat kids" and, believe me, I received more than a bit of ridicule. And no, as is the case with Judy Blume's Wendy, those who inflicted the pain never got a "comeuppance" and, in fact, never seemed to think they had done wrong. Like "Linda", I was punished for looking the wrong way, breathing the wrong way and for generally just being there. The characters in this book are, unfortunately, very true to life and, for those readers who are disappointed in the curse words, that, too, is realistic. I vividly remember my sixth-grade vocabulary (and offended parents who don't think their kid would use them, well... just remember back). Granted, the book's tortuous subject and the characters' subsequent actions are enough to make a person sick but it is real... kids can be cruel and the scars they leave behind deep. And, though I haven't seen this brought into play in other reviews, it is clear that the adults in this book do little more than passively encourage the abuse of "Linda"... as I recall from my own disinterested educators, this is also an unfortunate reality. All in all, Blume has written a very honest depiction of the elementary school jungle and should be commended for it... warts and all. This book should serve as a wake-up call to more sensitive readers (possibly the bullies themselves), as well as the parents whose children are on the receiving end. It's a frankly honest portrayal of pre-teen behavior (although I will agree that Jill's parents are shallow and more than a little unrealistic). I would like to say, though, that for the kids who today feel like a "Linda"... you have my sympathy but believe me, things can get better. Several years after graduating high school, I ran into one of my worst tormentors - who not only had gained about 100 lbs. and now found himself in my former position, but sheepishly apologized for his past behavior. It was just too bad for him that, by then, his opinion no longer mattered to me; but I've often wondered why he finally apologized. Maybe he had finally read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Welcome to the real world
Review: I read this book as a child and then again to my child as an adult. Of course I liked it better as a child ... as an adult it bothered me because I dont want to think about my child going to school and being hurt or have their feelings destroyed. But you know, this book was written as real life is. Life isn't easy and people hurt you and sometimes there isn't any justice. People dont always learn their lesson or say they're sorry. I think that books help children relate to problems that they might have but can't talk to anyone about them. This book can relate to many people ... a child that is different and can get made fun of, a child that goes along with the crowd even when they might not want to and there is always the person that is popular and sometimes mean. We all know them as the leader. So this book is good, you just have to realize that not all books have a wonderful happy ending. But real life doesnt either.
Rating:
Summary: A literary masterpiece
Review: One cannot even begin to discuss literary masterworks without including this brilliant piece of work. "Blubber" is a sublime, haunting and yet accurate portrayal of America's youth. A book such as "Huckleberry Finn" pales in comparison. The hapless Linda Fischer, dubbed "Blubber" by her cruel classmates, is derided ceaselessly throughout the first half of this tale. Then the tables are turned, and our narrator is the one who is made to look the fool. Woe is me! By the end of this book, the reader is exhausted by the exposure to such coldhearted cruelty, yet exhilerated to know that goodness triumphs over adversity. By reading this book, you will end up not only loving "Blubber", but anyone else who looks the whale!
Rating:
Summary: One of her best!
Review: For those who thought that this book should have a "moral" or that there should be "apologies" at the end, I say, "Welcome to the real world!" I read this book in my elementary school years, and it was one of my favorites. It is honest, funny, disturbing, and interesting. It honestly dealt not only with bullying but with racism. Excellent reading! Don't be afraid to let your kids read this. It shows that in the real world not everyone gets their just deserts.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad book
Review: This book is not worth reading. It is about some kids who make fun of a girl because she is fat.The main characters are two girls. They make fun of a girl, Linda who their class nicknamed blubber. Then one day the rest of the class likes blubber and they don't like one of the main characters anymore. This happens for no reason at all.This book deserves 0 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Scarred me for life
Review: Not that I enjoyed too many of Blume's books when I was younger, but Blubber was the worst. It left me, a "different" child of sorts, insanely scared (I even had a few nightmares) that I would be locked in a closet and taunted by my fellow classmates one day. It never happened, though I suppose it could have. Along with some unecessary cursing, it leaves the reader with an overall uneasy feeling. Nothing is resolved, and there is no justice, which wouldn't appeal to a lot of children. I never want to see that book again, and I'd never buy it for anybody.
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