Gr 1-3-This book expands the picture book The Pain and the Great One (S & S, 1984) into a beginning chapter book. Third-grader Abigail calls her little brother "The Pain" because he causes so much trouble. Jake is in first grade and calls his older sister "The Great One" because she thinks so highly of herself. The book doesn't follow a traditional story arc; instead, it is a series of vignettes in which the children continually clash and then reconcile. While the stories are funny and sometimes poignant, often they're a bit heavy with sentimentality and nostalgia. The theme is that arguing with your sibling is part of the fun of growing up, but there isn't much child appeal in that adult perspective. How many kids enjoy being told that they really love their brother or sister, despite all the bickering? Nevertheless, the stories are sweet and accurately depict the growing pains of childhood. Stevenson's black-and-white ink illustrations are entertaining, particularly the drawing of mashed potatoes with peas strewn across the page. Overall, this is a successful effort with great illustrations and humor, but it's not an essential purchase: the picture book was more succinct.-Laura Lutz, Queens Borough Public Library, NY Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

The Pain and the Great One first appeared in a 1985 picture book. In this chapter book, they get a fuller treatment that's just right for the audience. First-grader Jake is the Pain, the annoying thorn in the side of  the Great One (third-grader Abigail). The short, funny chapters point up the push-pull relationship between the siblings, but sometimes they focus on only one of the characters: Abigail can't ride a bike and worries about it throughout one story; Jake has fun playing with his aunt's visiting dog, despite the canine's serious doggy breath. A more tender side to the relationship comes out in a story in which they both appear. Jake is suddenly afraid of haircuts, so Abigail cuts cardboard covers to protect his ears, even as she denies it's to help him. As one would expect from Blume, the book provides plenty of  family-familiar fun, and Stevenson's signature ink artwork boosts the tale with amusing pictures that pull the reader along.

Once again, Blume shows off her pitch-perfect understanding of childhood anxieties and family dynamics. In alternating first-person chapters, siblings Jacob (the Pain) and Abigail (the Great One) describe a series of Saturday adventures, including visits to Mr. Soupy's hair cuttery, an unsuccessful sleepover and lively dog-sitting. First-grader Jake learns to like soccer league when he gets to play something besides goalie, and third-grader Abigail finally masters riding a bike. Each short chapter begins with a picture of the speaker, and all are liberally illustrated with Stevenson's sketches. Aimed at a younger audience than many of her books, the humor and convincing dialogue will keep new readers going. Jacob and Abigail first appeared in "The Pain and the Great One" in Marlo Thomas's collection Free to be . . . You and Me (1974); that story was illustrated and republished on its own with the same title in 1984. This welcome new collection should attract a new generation of readers. (Fiction. 6-9)

This energetic, comical collaboration rounds up seven new stories about the spunky siblings from Blume’s <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Pain and the Great One. First-grader Jake calls his older sister the Great One, “because she thinks she’s so great.” Abigail, in turn, has dubbed him the Pain “because that’s what he is.” In distinct, equally sassy voices, the two take turns narrating the tales, which capture slices of Saturday life. The Great One provides an imaginative solution when her brother refuses to get a haircut (because he’s afraid that the barber will cut his ears off), and describes her disastrous half-birthday sleepover party, at which the one friend who shows up refuses to spend the night. The Pain explains how he successfully wiggles out of playing goalie for his bungling soccer team, and tells of pet-sitting for his aunt’s dog and giving the malodorous mutt a shampoo and a tooth-brushing. And the Great One proudly recounts how she finally overcomes her fear of falling and learns to ride a bike. (“I can jump rope, turn an almost-perfect cartwheel, and make pancakes with hardly any help. The Pain is hopeless at those things. So how come he can ride a bike?”) Blume fills the duo’s narratives with playful bickering, banter and baiting, while slyly and satisfyingly revealing their mutual affection. Further animating the kids’ antics are Stevenson’s (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">No Laughing, No Smiling, No Giggling) wispy illustrations, which feature many funny flourishes. Ages 5-9. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Aug.)