Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One

Review by Booklist Review

The Pain and the Great One first appeared in a 1985 picture book. In this chapter book, they get a fuller treatment that's just right for the audience. First-grader Jake is the Pain, the annoying thorn in the side of  the Great One (third-grader Abigail). The short, funny chapters point up the push-pull relationship between the siblings, but sometimes they focus on only one of the characters: Abigail can't ride a bike and worries about it throughout one story; Jake has fun playing with his aunt's visiting dog, despite the canine's serious doggy breath. A more tender side to the relationship comes out in a story in which they both appear. Jake is suddenly afraid of haircuts, so Abigail cuts cardboard covers to protect his ears, even as she denies it's to help him. As one would expect from Blume, the book provides plenty of  family-familiar fun, and Stevenson's signature ink artwork boosts the tale with amusing pictures that pull the reader along.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2007 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

This energetic, comical collaboration rounds up seven new stories about the spunky siblings from Blume's The Pain and the Great One. First-grader Jake calls his older sister the Great One, "because she thinks she's so great." Abigail, in turn, has dubbed him the Pain "because that's what he is." In distinct, equally sassy voices, the two take turns narrating the tales, which capture slices of Saturday life. The Great One provides an imaginative solution when her brother refuses to get a haircut (because he's afraid that the barber will cut his ears off), and describes her disastrous half-birthday sleepover party, at which the one friend who shows up refuses to spend the night. The Pain explains how he successfully wiggles out of playing goalie for his bungling soccer team, and tells of pet-sitting for his aunt's dog and giving the malodorous mutt a shampoo and a tooth-brushing. And the Great One proudly recounts how she finally overcomes her fear of falling and learns to ride a bike. ("I can jump rope, turn an almost-perfect cartwheel, and make pancakes with hardly any help. The Pain is hopeless at those things. So how come he can ride a bike?") Blume fills the duo's narratives with playful bickering, banter and baiting, while slyly and satisfyingly revealing their mutual affection. Further animating the kids' antics are Stevenson's (No Laughing, No Smiling, No Giggling) wispy illustrations, which feature many funny flourishes. Ages 5-9. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 1-3-This book expands the picture book The Pain and the Great One (S & S, 1984) into a beginning chapter book. Third-grader Abigail calls her little brother "The Pain" because he causes so much trouble. Jake is in first grade and calls his older sister "The Great One" because she thinks so highly of herself. The book doesn't follow a traditional story arc; instead, it is a series of vignettes in which the children continually clash and then reconcile. While the stories are funny and sometimes poignant, often they're a bit heavy with sentimentality and nostalgia. The theme is that arguing with your sibling is part of the fun of growing up, but there isn't much child appeal in that adult perspective. How many kids enjoy being told that they really love their brother or sister, despite all the bickering? Nevertheless, the stories are sweet and accurately depict the growing pains of childhood. Stevenson's black-and-white ink illustrations are entertaining, particularly the drawing of mashed potatoes with peas strewn across the page. Overall, this is a successful effort with great illustrations and humor, but it's not an essential purchase: the picture book was more succinct.-Laura Lutz, Queens Borough Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

(Primary) First-grader Jake (named the Pain by his sister) and third-grader Abigail (called the Great One by her brother) are back in Blume's newest family story for young readers. Unlike its picture-book precursor, this is an illustrated chapter book for emerging readers, with chapters narrated by either the Pain or the Great One. Even though Jake and Abigail drive each other nuts, it's clear that they do care about one another. What else could explain the cardboard ears Abigail constructs to protect her brother's ears during a haircut? Or the way she helps Jake solve his soccer problems? And is that a smile on Jake's face when his sister finally learns to ride a bike? Blume gets the tone just right as this brother-and-sister team navigate the familiar waters of family life, and the whole package is greatly enhanced by Stevenson's droll (and plentiful) pen-and-ink illustrations. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Once again, Blume shows off her pitch-perfect understanding of childhood anxieties and family dynamics. In alternating first-person chapters, siblings Jacob (the Pain) and Abigail (the Great One) describe a series of Saturday adventures, including visits to Mr. Soupy's hair cuttery, an unsuccessful sleepover and lively dog-sitting. First-grader Jake learns to like soccer league when he gets to play something besides goalie, and third-grader Abigail finally masters riding a bike. Each short chapter begins with a picture of the speaker, and all are liberally illustrated with Stevenson's sketches. Aimed at a younger audience than many of her books, the humor and convincing dialogue will keep new readers going. Jacob and Abigail first appeared in "The Pain and the Great One" in Marlo Thomas's collection Free to be . . . You and Me (1974); that story was illustrated and republished on its own with the same title in 1984. This welcome new collection should attract a new generation of readers. (Fiction. 6-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Mr. Soupy On Saturdays we do errands with Dad. He's good at errands. Today, even though it was really warm, the Pain was wearing earmuffs. Big fluffy ones. Our first stop was the shoe store. The shoe salesman took one look at the Pain and said, "We have some nice snow boots on sale. Half price." "Why would I want snow boots in May?" the Pain asked. The shoe man shrugged. "Looks like you're getting ready for winter," he said, pointing to the Pain's earmuffs. "I'm getting ready for a haircut," the Pain told him. "Oh," the shoe salesman said, as if that made perfect sense. The Pain got a pair of sandals. So did I. From the shoe store the three of us walked up the street to Mr. Soupy's. Mr. Soupy is our haircutter. You have to be under twelve to have Mr. Soupy cut your hair. In the window of his shop there's a sign. It says Mr. Soupy sings while he snips your hair. "No more than an inch," I reminded him when it was my turn. "A big inch or a little inch?" Mr. Soupy sang. "A little inch," I said. I knew when Mr. Soupy was done because he whipped off my cape and shook out the hair. I watched as it floated to the floor. It looked like more than an inch to me. Then it was the Pain's turn. But he was still outside. He looked over at Dad. Dad was in the waiting area, reading a magazine. Then the Pain looked at me. "What?" I said, even though I knew what. The Pain is scared of haircuts. He didn't used to be scared. Nobody knows why he's suddenly weird about them. Maybe he knows. But if he does, he's not telling. Finally, he climbed up into the chair. "Hmmm . . ." Mr. Soupy said, walking around him. "It's hard to give a good haircut when a person is wearing earmuffs." The Pain just sat in the chair pretending he couldn't hear a word. I lifted one of his earmuffs halfway off and talked right into his ear. "Mr. Soupy says he can't give you a good haircut while you're wearing earmuffs." As soon as I said it I started wondering if Mr. Soupy is his real name. Probably not. It's probably just some name he invented. If it is his real name I wonder if it's his first name or last? Probably his last. I wonder what his first name is? Sam Soupy? Scott Soupy? Zachariah Soupy? Mr. Soupy tried to get the Pain to take off his earmuffs. He made silly faces. He did a wild dance. But he wasn't getting anywhere. The Pain just sat there. Finally, I said, "Why don't you try it with just one ear covered? That way, if Mr. Soupy doesn't cut off your first ear you'll know you're safe." The Pain didn't answer. "Look around," I told him. "Do you see anyone without two ears?" The Pain looked at the kids who were waiting. They looked back at him. "That doesn't mean it can't happen," he said. "Besides, if Mr. Soupy cut off your ear would you come back?" "The only cut you get at my shop is a haircut!" Mr. Soupy sang. Then he laughed at his own joke. I laughed with him. But the Pain didn't even smile. "You can cut the back," the Pain told Mr. Soupy. "You can cut the front. But you can't cut around my ears. Those are the rules." "Okay," Mr. Soupy said. "No problem." "You can do that?" the Pain asked. "Sure." "Won't he look funny?" I said. "Sure," Mr. Soupy said. "But he didn't say he cared about looking funny." Mr. Soupy raised his scissors to the Pain's head. As soon as he did, the Pain let out a wail. . . . "Waaahhhh!!!" That got Dad's attention. He came over to the chair. "What's up?" Dad asked. Mr. Soupy put down his scissors and said, "I give up!" "You can't give up," Dad said. "You're Mr. Soupy. You get the job done!" Mr. Soupy sighed. "Bring him back in a few days," he told Dad. "When I don't have a crowd waiting." Excerpted from Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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