This book should be read by every child with a sibling (or siblings). I like to think of it as a Zen way of looking at things from each other's points of view. This is Judy Blume's only true "picture book" even though a couple of her others have illustrations: Tales of a 4th grade Nothing and The one in the middle is the Green Kangaroo. I have to say that Blume is one of the "great ones" herself. She has captured in this book, as in all of her books, the perfect balance between the reality of the world and the humor in all of us. ( )

This charming book addresses the issue of sibling rivalry between an eight-year old girl and her six-year old little brother. Their frustration with one another is evident in the two separate sections of the book, one for each of their points of view. What is also evident, and apparently realized by the children’s parents, is that they actually love each other and rely on each other more than they are willing to admit. The story serves as a strong introduction to the concept of perspective. ( )

This story is about a brother and sister who complain about each other.

The Pain and the Great One is a very cute book about a brother and sister who don't get along. The older sister refers to her brother as the pain, and the brother refers to the sister as the great one. The children both take turns complaining to the parents about the other one, and they always come to the conclusion that the other sibling is the parent's favorite. At the end, you think that a lesson has been learned when the sister is given the privilege of staying up later than the brother. She is bored without him, and misses him...however, morning rolls around, and he is once again a pain.

This would be a great story to read aloud to a younger class. I think it would be very easy for them to relate to, and perhaps they would realize that everyone has the same experiences with siblings, and theirs aren't horrible.

The classroom extension that I would use for this book would be to have the students write about the good and bad qualities of their sibling, or a close friend. This would hopefully help them to appreciate the person they're writing about more.

This was a wonderful book. Amazing book for siblings. The book is about an older sister that thinks that her little brother is favored over her. At the same time, the little brother thinks that everyone thinks that his older sister is favored. There is a big lesson to be learned in this book. It does not have to be used just for siblings, but it can be used for several different scenarios. Teachers can use this book as a social learning skill. It can be used as a writing prompt. ( )