Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Judy Blume |
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| Cover artist | Roy Doty |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Fudge series |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Dutton |
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Publication date
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1972 |
| Media type | Print Paperback |
| Pages | 144 pp |
| ISBN | 0-525-36455-2 |
| OCLC | 539880 |
| LC Class | PZ7.B6265 Ot |
| Preceded by | Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing |
| Followed by | Superfudge |
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great is a popular children's novel written by Judy Blume. It was first published in 1972. This book is the second story in the well-known Fudge series.
Contents
What the Story is About
The book follows Sheila Tubman, a 10-year-old girl. Sheila tries to act very confident and brave. But deep down, she has many fears. These include being scared of spiders (called arachnophobia), dogs (called cynophobia), and water (called aquaphobia).
Sheila's family decides to spend their summer vacation in Tarrytown, New York. Sheila joins a day camp there. She meets Merle "Mouse" Ellis, a friendly and brave girl. Mouse is very good at yo-yo tricks. To Sheila's surprise, the family they are staying with owns a dog named Jennifer. Sheila is very afraid of Jennifer and tries to avoid her. Sheila gets even more worried when she learns Jennifer is going to have puppies. Her sister, Libby, wants to adopt one!
Sheila also has to take swimming lessons, which she really doesn't want to do. But she works hard and passes the final test. She even earns a beginner's swimming certificate. At camp, Sheila starts a camp newspaper all by herself. This turns out to be harder than she thought. Eventually, she gives the newspaper to two older boys. They finished a crossword puzzle she made and she promised them a prize. Sheila also helps paint the background for the camp's play, Peter Pan.
Sheila thinks everyone believes she is fearless. But this idea changes after a sleepover. Her friends write about her in a slam book activity. Even though they have a big argument after reading what was written, their friendships continue. Sheila slowly starts to face her fears, little by little. By the end of summer, she feels much better about things. She is even okay with her family adopting a puppy. Sheila realizes she actually enjoyed her vacation after all!
Sheila's Other Adventures
Sheila is also a character in the Fudge series. In this book, only Peter and his dog, Turtle, from the Hatcher family are mentioned. Sheila also briefly talks about Peter's brother, Fudge, but she doesn't use his name.
Meet the Characters
Main Characters
- Sheila Tubman - She is the main character. Sheila is excited to be in Tarrytown for the summer. But she has many fears and finds it hard to admit them.
- Libby Tubman - Sheila's 13-year-old sister. Libby loves ballet and is interested in boys.
- Merle "Mouse" Ellis - Sheila's friend in Tarrytown. Mouse is the junior champion of yo-yoing. She is also a great swimmer and loves dogs.
- Sondra and Jane Van Arden - These are twins who become good friends with Sheila and Mouse. They are both excellent swimmers. They argue with Sheila and Mouse at a sleepover but later make up.
- Marty - Sheila's swimming teacher. He has a tough time teaching Sheila because she is so afraid of water. When Sheila tells him about her fear, he helps her prepare for the beginner's test.
Other Characters
- Betsy Ellis - Mouse's younger sister, who is only 4 years old. She is a very good diver. Betsy has a pretend dog named Ootch, which is a candy box on a string. She does this because she is allergic to real dogs.
- Denise - A counselor at the summer camp. She teaches pottery. Denise also helps with a haunted hayride. She encourages Sheila to face her fears during the hayride.
- Maryanne - A teenage girl at the summer camp. She gets the part of Wendy in the Peter Pan play because she sings better than Libby. Even though Libby is annoyed, they become friends.
- Allen and Paul - Two teenagers from the summer camp. They are the only ones who finish Sheila's crossword puzzle. Sheila gives them the camp newspaper as a prize. They turn out to be very good at running the paper. They even change its name from Newsdate with Sheila the Great to Allen and Paul: Tell All.
- Mrs. Reese - A neighbor of the Tubmans from Manhattan. She has a small dog named Baby. Baby is the only dog Sheila can stand before she starts to overcome her fear of them.
- Bobby - The boy whose room Sheila stays in. His family is on vacation in England. Sheila is not happy about sleeping in a boy's room. She thought the house would be more "girly."
- Peter Hatcher - Sheila's classmate and the main character of the book before this one. He is only seen briefly when he shares an elevator with Sheila and his dog, Turtle, whom Sheila fears.
- Freddie - A lifeguard at the community pool. Libby thinks he is very attractive and often flirts with him. She stops when she finds out he has a girlfriend.
Book Dedication
Judy Blume dedicated this book to her parents.
Changes in Later Editions
After 2002, new printings of the book were updated. Some parts were changed to include newer technology. For example, record players were replaced with CD players. Also, the camp's copy machine often broke down, so Sheila had to use a mimeograph machine. In the original book, they were already using a mimeograph machine and didn't have a copy machine yet.
