Blubber


 * ** Book: **
 * Blubber by Judy Blume **

// Plot summary  //
Wendy, a smart and popular girl, leads her classmates in bullying Linda. The story follows the fickleness of preteen group dynamics and observes the ease with which bullying shifts targets, especially late in the story when Jill, after standing up for Linda (because Jill is frustrated with herself for so readily following Wendy's lead), becomes the focus of harassment (including from Linda herself, who is more than willing to bully one of her former harassers). Jill's best friend is Tracy Wu, a girl of Chinese heritage, and Wendy makes a racial slur against Tracy when Jill sticks up for Linda. Unlike Linda, Jill fights back against her classmates when they harass her. After a showdown in the girls' restroom, Jill is no longer bullied by her peers and becomes friendly with the new girl in her class, Rochelle, while remaining best friends with Tracy. taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blubber_(novel) ||

// Controversy  //
Judy Blume does use the word “bitch” and “damn” in the book. We did use this as a lead off for quite an interesting discussion about swearing. ** Name Game ** : We did the rhyming name game again since we had new members. ** Ice-Breaker ** : Laughing relaxation CD
 * Discussion Questions: **
 * 1) How is the bullying in this book different from the bullying in The Hundred Dresses that we read earlier in the book club
 * 2) Why do people bully?
 * 3) Wendy is the most popular girl in Mrs. Minish’s fifth grade class. Describe Wendy. Find some proof that Wendy is a ‘troublemaker.” Why does Jill fall into the trap of Wendy’s power?
 * 4) Why is Linda such an easy target for bullies. What could Linda have done to help her situation? Does Jill do it differently? She isn’t targeted because she is fat (there are two other firls who are bigger than she is and one boy who is) she is targeted because she is a door mat and sees herself as a victim.
 * 5) Describe the friendship between Jill and Tracy. Would Tracy have participated in the bullying if she was in the class?
 * 6) Does Mrs. Minish realize what is going on between the girls. Is there evidence that she is just an ‘uninformed’ teacher. How can teachers and administrators help eliminate problems with bullying?
 * 7) Wendy tries to convince Jill and Tracy that it was Linda who squealed on them for putting eggs in Mr. Machinist’s mailbox on Hallowe’en. Tracy doubts the accusation and Jill suggests that Linda be given a trial. How is this the turning point in the novel
 * 8) Is it a happy ending? Does Jill feel remorse
 * 9) There are two instances of swearing in this book (bitch and damn) How do you feel about swearing?
 * 10) Blubber sometimes gets challenged – discuss: the bullies never get punished? Kids can use it as a blueprint for bullying? Ignore it ? Laugh it off? Or give them a punch in the nose?

** Snack: ** Veggies, Fruit and Dip Milk ** Craft ** : Silhouettes Materials: overhead projector, chalk, black or green large construction paper and large white paper, markers 1.  Mother will trace the silhouette of their daughter’s head and then they cut it out. It is pasted onto another paper and then all around the silhouette, they will work together to write all of the nice things that someone else would say about them. 2.  reverse with the mother if time permits. Introduce the next book