Blubber- Author Study

My mom really got me into Judy Blume when I was a kid. I remembered her telling me that Blubber was one of her favorites, and I read it. I remembered reading it, and really liking it, so why not go back to one of my favorite authors as a child for my author study.
When I re-read Blubber, I had forgotten a lot, and defiantley seen it in a different point of view now that I am a lot older. It is about bullying, and though I always knew bullying is TERRIBLE, i saw different things as terrible, like how the adults were reacting to it.
The main bully of the group narrates the book. That gives it a totally different perspective. They made Linda say, "I am Blubber, the smelly whale of class 206" before she did anything. Before she entered the class, got a drink, and even got on the bus. The bully says she feels she could make her do anything, and wanted to see how far they could push her.
Not only is there bullying going on in this book, parents made comments like, "Someday, you all will laugh about this." WHAT?! Did they really think that would help?
While being told by the bully, this book makes you hate her and her group, and feel for Linda. Tears were brought to my eyes a couple times, especially when I found out the teacher knows about what is going on the whole time. What also bothers me, is that the bullies never really get punished. But, is that not a real situation? 9 times out of 10 the bullies do get away with things.
While begin written in the 1970s, this book still holds true today. Read it with your 5th graders!