Iggie's House Book Review By: Taylor F

CITATION


Blume, Judy, Iggie’s House, (New York: Antheneum Books for Young Readers, 1970).

INTRODUCTION

As a kid, I never read any Judy Blume books, but my mother had always suggested that I read them, as they were popular books when she was a middle school student and a teenager. Judy Blume is an American author who has written numerous books that have gained world-wide recognition and have generated revenues in excess of $80 million. Most of Judy Blume’s books were written in the 1970s and they often deal with controversial topics such as divorce, bullying, religion, teen sex, and menstruation. Many of Blume’s books have been met with censorship in school libraries.

Iggie’s House focuses on racism. It is a book written for mainly for middle-school children or older elementary aged children, and mainly for children aged nine to twelve. The book was written in the late 1960s and published in 1970. It was written during a tumultuous time in the country. It was a time when there were multiple race riots in the United States, when schools were desegregating and when Martin Luther King Junior had been the victim of a horrific assassination.

The book deals with racism through the eyes of its main character, Winnie Barringer, as she works to befriend a black family who has moved onto her street in a white suburban neighborhood.

The book jacket pictures a girl, presumed to be eleven years old, with dirty blond hair and blue eyes, positioned between two similar aged black boys.

PLOT SUMMARY

The book deals with an eleven year old girl who is excited when a black family moves into their suburban white neighborhood. The book deals with a range of emotions and situations that develop as a result of the family’s move into the neighborhood.

CRITICAL THINKING

RACISM

First and foremost, the book presents the topic of racism. The book does a wonderful job of displaying both racist and race based feelings from multiple perspectives. It shows a girl, Winnie, who is enamored with the fact that the Garber family is black. It shows a white suburban housewife who has banned her child from playing with “colored” children and whose feelings lead her to outwardly expressing her feelings in efforts to push the Garber family out of the neighborhood. It shows the how Winnies parents, Mr. and Mrs. Barringer, work through their own personal feelings.

The book also shows how the Garbers dealt with the racism. It explained how Mrs. Garber was devastated and up crying all night and how she ultimately wanted to pack up and move. It showed Mr. Garber, who decided to stay put, as he worked hard for the promotion that had brought the Garber family to this new city. Most importantly, it showed how the three Garber children dealt with race. Herbie, the middle child, who was just starting the fifth grade was the most out-spoken about his feelings. Herbie was very vocal with his negative thoughts towards Mrs. Lanthorn and wished that he could outwardly hurt her, as she had hurt him. Moreover, Herbie was often very cynical with towards Winnie, especially when Winnie had difficulty understanding their feelings, even though Winnie’s main objectives and actions were positive.

PERSONAL CHARACTER AND INDIVIDUAL VALUES

Another major theme in the book is how important character and personal value systems are to humanity. The book demonstrated a person with strong personal character and individual values within the main character, Winnie. Winnie’s dealt with a series of situations where displayed her willingness to be accepting, her courage, her confidence, and mostly importantly, her determination. Her strong values helped her work through a series of events during a one week time span that she’d never experienced before.

The two main male father figures in the book both had minimal roles, but also provided us with a look into how their own personal values helped them make the right decision for their families. In Mr. Barringer’s case, it was his personal determination and independence that lead him to redirect Mrs. Lanthorn when she tried to push the Barrigners to leave the neighborhood. It was these same values that were the foundation for him also standing up to Mrs. Lanthorn when she came to the Barringers in efforts to get Winnie in trouble for circulating a race based questionnaire.

Again, although Mr. Garber’s role was limited it the book, it was her perseverance and hard working principals that provided him with the foundation to keep his family put, although his wife was having a difficult time dealing with the unwelcoming communications that she had received from some of the neighbors.

Mrs. Lanthorn provided us with a source of a value system that should be questioned. Mrs. Lanthorn was a woman who lacked in moral value and demonstrated a series of negative traits, including cowardice, inconsiderateness, thoughtless. She was a woman void of compassion and was very close-minded and hurtful.

DIVERSITY AND FRIENDSHIP

We all know that diversity helps us to understand that individuals are unique creatures and that we should all be recognized for our individual differences. The exploration of our differences, especially as it relates to race, can create both negative and positive outcomes. This book provides both negative and positive elements. By focusing to the positive, and understanding that we are all different, we are able to begin to embrace some of the diverse elements which have traditionally kept us apart.

Winnie was excited to have a black family on the street. She was drawn to the unique and unknown and her desire to become friends with the Garber children lead her to make new friends. A turning point for Winnie was when she noticed that the Garber children ate the same type of peanut butter as her. Shortly thereafter, she realized that same type of parental structure and communication obstacles that existed in the Barringer family also existed in the Garber family. As Winnie began to indentify commonalities between the children and herself, the initial excitement about having new black friends evolved just into an excitement of having new friends period.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I loved reading this book. It kept me engaged and once I started to read it, I didn’t want to put it down. There were numerous elements to the story line that I could personally relate to. I am amazed that over forty years since the book was written, that some of the major themes of the book are still pertinent in today’s world. It helps me to understand how controversial this book must have been when it was written and first published.

I believe that this would be a wonderful book for children to read today. It was extremely well written and deals with multiple topics that are important for children to understand. I believe that although we have made great progress in our country in regards to race based issues, that there is still much work to be done. I believe that if children can understand that diversity is an important and essential element of our society, that they’ll be better equipped to deal with the various situations that they’ll be experience during their life time and that this book can help to reinforce a positive personal value system.