otherwise known as the sheila the great. judy blume. (285)

i remember reading otherwise known as sheila the great as a kid because i was excited that character from the fudge series had her own book!  however, all i remember from the novel is mouse's little sister, betsey, and the box she dragged around as a pet.  i have no idea why that stuck with me, but my love for marcel the shell and his "dog" makes sense.

otherwise known as sheila the great told the story of sheila tubman's summer in tarrytown.  and to be honest, as an adult, sheila is a total brat! i think as an child, i would have been annoyed by her as well.  blume must have written to her as a foil for the reader, so that they could see sheila's flaws and not make the same errors.  i mean those slam book descriptions are pretty on point.

sheila was a liar, she lies to cover up what she was scared of and couldn't do. i mean, mouse, saw through it and was still her friend.  i for one was getting annoyed by it yet, this is how kids are.  

things that annoyed me about sheila:

-how she destroyed bobby's models

-how she wasted all those materials for the camp paper

-how she didn't want to try anything in swim lessons (i would have shot myself if i was her swim coach)

-her lying about everything 

as i write this list, blume had to have written this to show kids how not to act.  sheila is definitely not lovable like margaret!  or peter!  so i guess this is a good book, if your child needs to

stop lying or overcome a fear.