# Blubber

**Author:** Judy Blume
**Grade range:** Grades 4–7
**Age range:** 9–12
**First published:** 1974
**Page count:** 192
**Genre:** Realistic Fiction
**ISBN-13:** `9781481414401`
**ISBN-10:** `0440407079`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/blubber
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

Judy Blume's 1974 novel looks unflinchingly at fifth-grade cruelty. When Jill goes along with the class ringleader in tormenting an overweight classmate nicknamed 'Blubber,' she enjoys belonging — until the bullying turns on her. Blume refuses easy lessons, showing how ordinary kids drift into meanness and how hard it is to stand apart.

## Themes

- bullying
- friendship
- school
- identity

## Where this book is assigned

### North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award

- **recommended** · 4th grade · North Dakota — [source: North Dakota Library Association — Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (student-choice; annual since 1978; Juvenile/Chapter + Intermediate + Older-Reader divisions); winner roll 1978-2025](https://ndla.info/Flicker-Tale-Past-Winners)
- **recommended** · 5th grade · North Dakota — [source: North Dakota Library Association — Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (student-choice; annual since 1978; Juvenile/Chapter + Intermediate + Older-Reader divisions); winner roll 1978-2025](https://ndla.info/Flicker-Tale-Past-Winners)
- **recommended** · 6th grade · North Dakota — [source: North Dakota Library Association — Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (student-choice; annual since 1978; Juvenile/Chapter + Intermediate + Older-Reader divisions); winner roll 1978-2025](https://ndla.info/Flicker-Tale-Past-Winners)
- **recommended** · 7th grade · North Dakota — [source: North Dakota Library Association — Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (student-choice; annual since 1978; Juvenile/Chapter + Intermediate + Older-Reader divisions); winner roll 1978-2025](https://ndla.info/Flicker-Tale-Past-Winners)

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