Bubble and Squeak

by Philippa Pearce

Sid, Peggy and Amy adore the two gerbils, Bubble and Squeak, but their mother detests them. A major family battle results, and it's clear life is never going to be quite the same again. But after a near fatal encounter between Bubble and Ginger the cat, Mrs Sparrow begins to see that life with 2 gerbils might not be so bad after all.

Genres: Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Family, School, Novels, 20th Century

Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Philippa Pearce was an acclaimed English author of children’s literature, best remembered for her classic time-slip novel Tom’s Midnight Garden, which won the 1958 Carnegie Medal and remains a staple of British children’s fiction. Raised in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, in the Mill House by the River Cam, Pearce drew lifelong inspiration from her rural upbringing. Educated at the Perse School for Girls and Girton College, Cambridge, she studied English and History before working as a civil servant and later producing schools’ radio programmes for the BBC.
Her debut, Minnow on the Say (1955), inspired by local landscapes and a childhood canoe trip, was a Carnegie runner-up and later adapted for television. Tom’s Midnight Garden, also rooted in her childhood environment, became her most celebrated work, inspiring multiple adaptations for stage, screen, and television. Pearce went on to publish over thirty books, including A Dog So Small, The Squirrel Wife, The Battle of Bubble and Squeak, and The Way to Sattin Shore, with several earning further Carnegie commendations.
Married briefly to Martin Christie, with whom she had a daughter, Pearce returned to Great Shelford in 1973, where she lived until her death in 2006. Her legacy continues through the annual Philippa Pearce Lecture, celebrating excellence in children’s literature.

Reviews

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: A simple tale that will delight lovers of gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus), which should not be confused with jerboas (Jaculus jaculus), which despite the similarity of their name belong to a totally different family, nor with golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus).

ESPAÑOL: Un cuento sencillo que deleitará a los amantes de los gerbillos (Meriones unguiculatus), que no se deben confundir con los jerbos (Jaculus jaculus), que a pesar de la similitud de su nombre vulgar pertenecen a una familia totalmente diferente, ni con los hamster dorados (Mesocricetus auratus).

[Amber Scaife · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy gets two gerbils from a friend and so starts the battle between him and his sisters (with the silent support of his step-father) on one side and his mother on the other.
Cute, short, and sweet.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging story of a family and their two new gerbils, Bubble and Squeak. Sid, Peggy and Amy love the gerbils, and their stepfather doesn't mind them, but their mother hates them! In this family battle, Mum tries everything she can to get rid of the gerbils whilst Sid and his sisters desperately want to keep them.

This book explores themes such as pets, family and responsibility and would be suitable for children aged 7-9. An example of a classroom activity based on this book could include a persuasive writing task, or a balanced arguments task about the advantages and disadvantages of keeping the gerbils!

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its been a long time since I've sat and read some fiction or even some children's fiction. It's nice to know I still enjoy children's books- even animal ones. What a nice way to relax while having a break from college and to have a book that doesn't have rubbish in it but is just a simple animal story is great :)

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 1001 CBYMRBYGU. I was a picky reader as a child. I loved fantasy. I stayed away from realistic fiction. I remember being horribly disappointed with books that appeared to be about magical experiences and were, instead, simply cleverly titled realistic fiction.

Not sure what I would have made of this book as a child, then. As an adult, I like it a lot. Sid wants a pet but his mom says no. A friend has given him two small gerbils, and his mom says to take them back. Unexpectedly, Sid’s quiet stepdad says the gerbils should stay.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. There were so many situations that I think children can engage with in terms of wanting to the keep the pets in the face of a parent's opposition. There is also then the relationships within the family of the children and their stepfather. There are a whole series of truly dramatic events (in gerbil terms) for the gerbils when Sid's ability to keep them is seriously threatened, right up to the end, but all is well in the end and the family dynamics seem to have improved as well. A good length for school.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

If it makes you cry, it's at least worth 4 stars, right?!
I had hamsters when I was a kid, so this book hit me in the heart.
Not the best book I've ever read, and I can't see many of my students today reading a book from '78, but I enjoyed it, and it made me feel like a kid again. It's too bad they probably won't read it - it's a cute story.

[Nancy Lewis]

In third grade, the class gerbil had babies, and I got to take two of them home. Yep, I named them Bubble and Squeak. They lived for three years, until one day I found only one of them in the cage. Apparently Bubble (or Squeak) had died and Squeak (or Bubble) had eaten him.

[Michelle Wiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very heart warming tale about a mother who was horrified at the thought of having gerbils in the house. It was a lovely tale and I really enjoyed it.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I read this before a very long time ago

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is basically a story about a mother who is thoroughly abusive (but not directly) toward gerbils that her son brought home one day and the REST of the family loves. The mother (Alice) hates animals but married her children's father, who LOVES animals, and ended up having three animal-loving children before her husband died. Then she remarried someone who is at least pro-animal.

So she really sort of dug her own grave on the animal-hating thing, but I get that there otherwise wouldn't be a story. She's pretty terrible, though, considering at one point she invites the neighbour to bring over her cat when the gerbils get loose in the house. I can't imagine being so hateful as to prefer to traumatise one's own children than let them just have pets (but then, I love animals, even if I dug my own grave when I married a pet-avoidant spouse).

I got this from my parents when I became interested in gerbils since our sixth-grade science class had a pair for class pets. I think at the time it was to tide us over since we didn't really have pets except an unfriendly parrot that I guess died? and some goldfish. At the time, it just made me want gerbils more, because I was certain I would take better care of them than the mom in the book, certainly.

(Objectively speaking, I don't know if I did, other than not ACTIVELY trying to endanger them, but my brother and I did do some things that were in retrospect not very good... but I tried to make up for that with the gerbils I adopted as a grown adult.)

I do still MOSTLY love the book, but I feel a little more distressed about the mom's actions now than then, since when I was a younger reader, I mostly just read about the gerbils. I also only just realised it's a British title, despite the punny name. Huh.

[Jane Scholey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such an easy, quick read. It’s a very simple story that feels like a blast from the past. It’s a story about a family that take on a couple of gerbils as pets, much to the utter dismay/disgust of the mum. She hates messy things, especially gerbils that chew soft furnishings.
There are some interesting character relationships-the step dad and his role in the family is good for exploration and discussion.
There are references to getting the milk from the door step, larders, coal scuttles. There are some nice descriptions too.
It would be a good, shorter text to use with younger children. I can also see the type of writing you could eat from it:persuasion (please let me keep the gerbils), science habitats.
Not the sort of book I would choose to read in class with my pupils but can see it would be an easy read.
Pearce’s style is incredibly readable. So reading this could lead chn onto her other work (Tom’s Midnight Garden is a must). Not massively enjoyable for me but quick and easy. It made me smile so that’s always good.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love Philippa Pearce, a British children’s book author (author of the award winning Tom’s Midnight Garden) so when I spotted this one at a thrift store, I grabbed it. I loved this one as well. An easy short read which would make a great read-aloud for ages 8-12, the story centers on a pair of hamsters given to Sid and the issuing family conflict. The mom is dead set against it. This is a battle of the wills in family life with a make-you-smile resolution. The only downside is for those of you not familiar with British culture, is the setting and language is definitely British, which I loved as well.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Battle Of Bubble And Squeak by Philippa Pearce is an entertaining children’s novel, just perfect for ages eight years and over.
The reader meets Bubble and Squeak who are two gerbils in need of a new home. All the family, except Mum, want to keep them. All they need to do now is to convince Mum that she wants to give them a home!
All the book is well presented. I loved the illustrations.
We see how easily we get attached to our pets. It is heartbreaking if we fear something happening to them.
Philippa Pearce writes a wonderful tale that will entertain you, whatever your age.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful story, though I'll admit to being biased. As a child, I too had gerbils, and the charming illustrations had me entranced. (I only wished there had been more.) As an adult re-reading this story to an almost-5yo, I appreciated it even more, but from a different perspective. It all just felt so familiar, so real.

And if you really want to know, both gerbils do make it to the end of the book for a happy ever after. Even Mrs. Sparrow mellows.

[Jessica Sacks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The intense drama of everyday situations. Sparingly told, with a surprising depth of character for both adult and child characters - though half the drama is the unbridgeable empathy gap between the two.

[Valerie Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute book! I love how accurately it explains the events that always seem to happen when you have a gerbil. I have one of my own, and I adore her!

[Zoë Sierens · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Esme · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read ahead to see whether we should continue in class. Bit boring, so hopefully they won't mind us starting something new after half-term...

[Subhiksha Kannan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful, cozy Christmas read. About how pets can bring a family together.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15422...

[Carla (carlaslittlelibrary)]

Okay, so I read this as part of scheme I’m doing for local primary school kids, but I’m still counting it!

[Gabriella · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 gerbils given by a child's cousin
causes arguments in the family
I expected more from the plot
small writing, some illustrations to break up the blocks of text