Freckle Juice
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First edition
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| Author | Judy Blume |
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| Illustrator | Sonia O. Lisker |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Four Winds Press |
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Publication date
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1971 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 47 pp |
| ISBN | 0-440-42813-0 |
| OCLC | 16245047 |
| LC Class | MLCS 2006/13892 (P) |
Freckle Juice (ISBN 0-440-42813-0) is a 1971 children's book by Judy Blume. This short story is about Andrew Marcus, a second grade student, who wants to look like Nicky Lane.
Summary
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Andrew's dream is to have freckles. He envies Nicky Lane because he has freckles all over his face, ears and neck. Once, he tried counting all of Nicky's freckles, but when he got to eighty-six, his teacher, Miss Kelly, told him to pay attention. He wants to have his own freckles so that his mother will not be able to tell if his neck and face are dirty, and he will not have to wash them. He makes many attempts to acquire freckles.
After asking Nicky how he got his freckles, and getting an expected answer ("You get born with them"), a girl in his class named Sharon, who often fools Andrew by using sneaky tricks, tells him he can get some by drinking a concoction that she claims she used. When Andrew does not initially believe her, she tells him to look closely, and he observes that she has six freckles on her nose.
Sharon gives him the recipe for "Freckle Juice" for fifty cents. He thinks it is ridiculous that he has to use five weeks worth of allowance for it, but he is so desperate to get freckles that he buys it anyway. After school, he runs home to make the recipe which calls for several disgusting ingredients (some of which he does not have and has to use substitutes). After drinking it he becomes very sick. His mother comes home, notices how sick he looks, and puts him to bed immediately. That night he has a nightmare about being bullied by a monster which looks like a gigantic Sharon, who forces him to drink quarts of Freckle Juice. Because he still feels queasy, Andrew stays home from school the following morning, but gradually recovers that afternoon.
The following day he is healthy enough to go back to school. He realizes that Sharon's recipe was only a joke to fool him. Angry and frustrated, he tries to think of a way to convince Sharon he got freckles. Before he goes to school, Andrew tries but cannot find a brown magic marker so he uses a blue one to draw several little dots on his face. He believes this will make him look like he has freckles, which will prove Sharon wrong. Unfortunately, everybody, including Sharon, sees through this and ends up laughing at him.
Miss Kelly gives Andrew her 'secret formula' for removing freckles. It turns out to be a powerful lemony soap that cleanses marker stains. Ironically, Nicky asks her if he can use it as well because he hates his freckles. Miss Kelly explains that freckles did not look good on Andrew, but are fine on him and that she hopes the formula will never be used again. Later, Sharon whispers to Nicky that she has a recipe for a concoction that can get rid of his freckles. She then turns and makes a big frog face at Andrew.
Reviews
"This convincing small boy adventure proceeds smoothly to a satisfying conclusion. The conniving little girl, understanding teacher, and feckless, freckleless boy are amusingly depicted in the impish black-and-white illustrations and in the story which is especially suited for reading aloud to second-and third-graders." - Library Journal.
"Spontaneous humor, sure to appeal to the youngest reader. The amusing sketches and the well-spaced type make an inviting volume." - The Horn Bo '
