Sheila Tubman sometimes wonders who she really is: the outgoing, witty, and capable Sheila the Great, or the secret Sheila, who's afraid of the dark, spiders, swimming, and dogs. When her family spends the summer in Tarrytown, Sheila has to face some of her worst fears. Not only does a dog come with the rented house, but her parents expect Sheila to take swimming lessons! Sheila does her best to pretend she's an expert at everything, but she knows she isn't fooling her new best friend, Mouse Ellis, who happens to be a crackerjack swimmer and a dog lover. What will it take for Sheila to admit to the Tarrytown kids -- and to herself -- that she's only human?
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"Sheila is not exactly the world's most likable protagonist. That's what I like about her. She's a self-important, lying brat . . . who just wants everyone to pay attention to her, respect her, and like her. Since everyone knew a show-off, a brat, a fibber . . . it's kinda neat to get into the head of one, and see an author doing something different once in a while. Sheila shows up in the Fudge books and is shown as an antagonist. I like hearing her side of it and not necessarily liking her any better but relating to her more. I related to her fear of dogs (I'm not exactly afraid of dogs, but I don't like them), and I thought it was interesting to see how Sheila's temporary neighbor didn't really buy her act. The swimming scenes and Sheila's triumphs at the end of her swimming test were very memorable. I think this author really captures being a kid very well."
— Swankivy (4 out of 5 stars)
" another great book in the series this one getting over ones fears. "
— Joe, 2/18/2014" nice..pretty funny..kool "
— Vidhi, 2/11/2014" This wasn't too bad. I had been excited to read another Blume book, since I didn't get too many as a child. And Blume being one of the most banned authors, well... The story was cute. Sheila got on my nerves and was bossy and lied all the time. But she was meant to be a flawed character. This book was written to give readers a glimpse into Peter's "arch-enemy." It makes sense why Sheila is the way she is, and I grew up with quite a few people like her. The thing that annoyed me the most with the book was some of the way the narrator told the story. There were just things I didn't agree with. But when I saw it was read by the author, I decided to let it go. :-) "
— Heidi, 1/31/2014" i have it but i still didnt finish it i got it like 2 yrs ago and im not even halfway haha =P but i so far like it...and its not cuz im a slow reader i had to read a lot of books... "
— Jisha, 1/29/2014" This book is absolutely AMAZING! One of the greatest books i have read. After i read it i was speechless. i was so impressed. I felt that I should read it again just because it is that good. I think i read it more that once. "
— Morgan, 1/23/2014" The summer travails of a 4th grade girls who is afraid of dogs, swimming, spiders, and the headless horsemen. I asked the girls to rate this when we finished, and one gave it 5 stars, the other gave it 3 (because the talk of the headless horseman scared her). "
— Kris, 1/23/2014" This book is teaching children to face their fears. "
— Teiya, 1/23/2014" I love the books that Judy Blume writes. It's really interesting to read her books. Judy Blume writes specific emotions and add lots of details so you know what is going on. "
— 7709mei, 1/21/2014" I remember reading the Fudge books which starred Peter Hatcher, and in these books we sometimes saw Sheila Tubman. You could see this book as an offshoot of the world created in the Fudge series, since the story focuses on Sheila. There's actually several Sheila books, and I recommend all of them. "
— Delicious, 1/20/2014" i like how in this book, and all the other judy blume books i've read so far in this serieis, make me feel like i'm the main character in stead of reading th book and just pituring what happens. "
— Leah, 1/14/2014" This book is about a girl called Sheila, she a girl who hate spiders,swimming,and most of all dogs. Sheila found decide to go to the country for the summer. Now she have to suffer with swimming lesson,creepy spiders, and DOGSSSSS. If you are a person who hate those things too, you should read that! "
— Julie, 1/5/2014Judy Blume is the enduringly popular author of many books for young readers. Over eighty million copies of her books have been sold, and the Fudge books (which feature a character based on her son Larry) are timeless classics. Among Blume’s many awards is the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. She lives in Key West with her husband.