Iggie's House

Judy Blume is an amazing author. I have been reading her books since I was a little girl. This book features themes that are still relevant today. Racism, housing discrimination, and ignorance. I highly recommend this to all children.

For a child's book, the subject matter was handled rather non-complicated and explains the social disorder of that time in the 60s well. I recommend this book for adults as well as reading it with a younger child.

I hadn't read this book since I was about the age of my own son (10) and was pleasantly surprised to find it as good as I recalled. I was even happier that HE liked it. This relatively short novel tells the story of Winnie, a preteen girl whose friend Iggie has just moved with her parents to Tokyo. Winnie is in the midst of a long and lonely summer in a suburban neighborhood with one very nosy neighbor, Mrs. Landon, who is also a racist, a germaphobe, and today's version of a helicopter parent. When a Black family moves into Iggie's old house, Winnie tries to make friends with the 3 kids (Glenn, Herbie and Tina), with mixed results. On the one hand, they resent her for being too nice (as Glenn tells her at one point, she's only acting that way because they're Black), but on the other hand, their relationship grows throughout the book as they begin to see Winnie's genuine desire to befriend and defend them. Some might take issue with a white woman writing this book and putting Winnie in the starring role (despite the title, Iggie is never present, except at the other end of letters Winnie writes, and via her old house) and accuse Blume of setting Winnie up in your classic ¨white savior¨ role, but to me, it's more complex than that. She has to deal with visceral feelings of injustice, confusion and dismay over her parents'role and perspective (her mother could probably be described as exhibiting passive racism) and probably, for the first time in her life, her own white privilege. This is what makes this book still relevant today. There are also scenes that capture and resonate with our own times, often giving me goosebumps (such as near the end, where the kids are about to explore a new housing development together....I could not help but think of the Arbery case....or when they allude to what's now termed white flight, gentrification, and even the concept of being ¨woke¨). Sure, the book is a little dated at times, particularly in its language use (negro, colored, other expressions that just sound a bit oudated), but my son did not mind when I read it to him. Plus, it helps put in context how language evolves, but many issues remain unresolved, unfortunately, in this country. It also feels like a deeply empathetic book, as Winnie struggles to get others to feel for and respect the Garbers and their presence. Every night I'd read my son a chapter and he would beg for another, until offering to do so himself. I don't know....there is just something about Judy Blume that is timeless. She gets in the heads of kids and understands how they think and feel....their rage, their disappointment, their sadness, their boredom and desire for adventure, companionship, understanding. As usual, the adults come off as deeply flawed, struggling with their own issues and unable to help their own kids truly work through what they're dealing with. This book should be required reading in elementary school (4th grade and up or so). Even though Winnie is the protagonist, the book is told in the 3rd person and it would be easy, if we weren't so afraid, to spend time on the Garber kids'response to Winnie and everything going on their new neighborhood. Older readers like myself can easily see the way that racial trauma embeds itself and burrows down into one's very conceptions of self and other. The Garber kids have every right to react to Winnie as they do, with suspicion and tentativeness. The end of the book is not entirely satisfying or resolved, but it reveals the resistance of 2 families to pressures around them, and to me, that's the biggest takeaway. From 1970, but still hugely relevant today.

Great book for a preteen. My granddaughter's favorite author to date.

I love Judy Blume. A great book about racism.

Arrived in great condition, exactly as described.

I like this book. I read this book when I was a teen and it helped me understand many things in my teen life so I felt this would help my daughter. She likes the booK and stayed engaged.

gift she loves it

great product

1. Iggie's House is a children's book by Judy Blume, published in 1970.

2. The main premise is that Winnie's best friend Iggie's family moves away and a new family named the Garbers moves into their old house. Winnie befriends the children who are named Glen, Herbie, and Tina but not everybody is as friendly to them. Why? Because it's the 70's and the Garbers are black and it is a predominantly white neighborhood. Throughout the book Winnie learns about prejudice, keeping an open mind, and having cultural sensitivity.

3. I like how full on angry Winnie gets with Clarice and Mrs. Landon. It's funny how even though Winnie is only eleven years old she can see right through Mrs. Landon and gets so mad at her for being prejudiced.

4. One of my favorite chapters was when Winnie went to the pool with her aunt. She had a really thought provoking conversation with her gym teacher (who works as a swimming instructor) about race and I think her petition that she gave to Mrs. Landon really helped prove her (Winnie's) point.

5. I bought this book used because I love Judy Blume and I had never had the chance to read this one when I was a kid. Like all of her books, it's thought provoking and the characters are realistic.