Friend or Fiend? with the Pain and the Great One

By Judy Blume

Book Overview

This dynamic bestselling author/illustrator duo captures the ups and downs of everyday life in this chapter book offering fun and perfectly narrated short stories--for kids who can already read, like the Great One, or for kids who are learning to read, like the Pain. Friend or Fiend? is the fourth book in a quartet of hilarious and warm-hearted stories that showcase the joys, the fun, and the frustrations of sibling rivalry and devotion, as seen through the eyes of those sassy siblings, the Pain and the Great One. What's the difference between a friend and a fiend? The Pain and the Great One are about to find out Jake is so embarrassed by a reading circle blunder, he vows never to speak in class again. Abigail believes she can no longer trust one of her best friends. And on the perfect snow day, who rescues Jake when someone jumps on him and washes his face in snow? Finally, Jake and Abigail decide to plan a birthday party to celebrate the date when their beloved cat Fluzzy first became part of their family. But only Fluzzy knows what really happened on that dark and stormy night a year ago. And he's not telling--or is he?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440420954
• ISBN13: 9780440420958
• Release Date: October 2010
• Publisher: Yearling Books
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Lukewarm Recommendation.

The sibling duo of Abigail and Jake aka the Great One and the Pain along with their cat Fluzzy narrate the compilation of stories by Judy Blume. In class Jake makes a mistake reading and is so embarrassed he vows never to read out loud again. Abigail argues with a classmate over a story her friend steals from her. Abigail and Jake butt heads and come together in a way all siblings can relate. The stories are fraught with the high emotions of the very young. Blume accurately portrays the actions, thoughts and feelings of the youngsters. She uses a vocabulary suitable for beginning readers. The negative I found was the over usage of he said/she said. It made the prose monotonous and predictable. I listened to the book and cannot comment on the art work. My review and ranking are based solely on the text. Would have given a ranking of 3.5 stars.