Soup & Me

Soup #2

by Robert Newton Peck, Charles Lilly (Illustrator)

Soup is back again, getting himself and his best pal Rob into more and better mischief.

From the crisp Vermont spring to the chill of winter, Soup and Rob learn, among other things: not to leave their clothes on the bank of the creek when Janice Riker is around, that Soup's tonsorial talents leave a lot to be desired, to chase a runaway pumpkin down Sutter's hill, to blaze a trail through Mrs. Stetson's marigolds, to have a fight with a turkey, and to provide Miss Kelly with a Christmas she'll never forget.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Juvenile, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Humor, Historical Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Robert Newton Peck is an American author of books for young adults. His titles include Soup and A Day No Pigs Would Die. He claims to have been born on February 17, 1928, in Vermont, but has refused to specify where. Similarly, he claims to have graduated from a high school in Texas, which he has also refused to identify. Some sources state that he was born in Nashville, Tennessee (supposedly where his mother was born, though other sources indicate she was born in Ticonderoga, New York, and that Peck, himself, may have been born there). The only reasonably certain Vermont connection is that his father was born in Cornwall.

Peck has written over sixty books including a great book explaining his childhood to becoming a teenager working on the farm called: A Day no Pigs would Die

He was a smart student, although his schooling was cut short by World War II. During and shortly after the conflict, he served as a machine-gunner in the U.S. Army 88th Infantry Division. Upon returning to the United States, he entered Rollins College, graduating in 1953. He then entered Cornell Law School, but never finished his course of study.

Newton married Dorothy Anne Houston and fathered two children, Anne and Christopher. The best man at the wedding and the godfather to the children was Fred Rogers of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood fame.

A Day No Pigs Would Die was his first novel, published in 1972 when he was already 44 years old. From then on he continued his lifelong journey through literature. To date, he has been credited for writing 55 fiction books, 6 nonfiction books, 35 songs, 3 television specials and over a hundred poems.

Several of his historical novels are about Fort Ticonderoga: Fawn, Hang for Treason, The King's Iron.

In 1993, Peck was diagnosed with oral cancer, but survived. As of 2005, he was living in Longwood, Florida, where he has in the past served as the director of the Rollins College Writers Conference. Peck sings in a barbershop quartet, plays ragtime piano, and is an enthusiastic speaker. His hobby is visiting schools, "to turn kids on to books."

—From Wikipedia

For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/robert-n...

Reviews

[Lori R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book from my youth. Funny book.

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a few books from my childhood shelves at home. I remember really enjoying these stories of two friends getting in trouble in a lot of different ways. And I remember picking these out at the elementary school book fair.

Memorable line: "We all took our seats. From the corner of my eye, I admired Norma Jean Bissell and the almost princess-like grace of her hand as she picked her nose."

I was surprised to see on GoodReads that these carried on for twelve more books, which is not really surprising, but they weren't really on my radar as I moved onto other books and series. Who knows, I might return to a few of the "new books"...eventually.

[Kristi Clemow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute - funnier than the first but quite silly - though i feel like they get whipped a bit too much.

Stories are Janice Riker Strikes Again where the boys decide to go skinny dipping a little early in the season and she throws all their clothes in the lake and steals Rob's underwear - they find clothes in a charity box at the church - I laughed out loud

Miss Boland's Victrola is about a dance that is coming and the nurse (who is apparently very fat) brings in her Victrola for them to listen to. Aside from being very offensive to fat people, it's quite funny as well

Silver Bullet - Janice runs the boys over in her homemade car - the boys decide to make their own with junkyard stuff - it gets out of control going downhill and runs into Janice's neighbors garden - which Janice gets blamed for

Quarter for a Haircut - Rob gets a quarter to get his haircut and the boys decide - stupidly - to spend the quarter on gum instead and Soup cuts his hair

Havoc on Halloween - the boys are on their way to a Halloween party at the church and see a giant pumpkin - decide to take it to the party but it's too heavy so they go find a wheelbarrow and then lose control of it going down hill - crash into the party - very silly and quite entertaining

Turkey Trot - The boys chase after a turkey - corner it- it beats them up - they decide to give it to a poor family and pay the farmer for it

A Christmas Bell - they boys decide to give their teacher a present by ringing the courthouse bell at 5 pm - but they get stuck up in the belltower and are rescued by the teacher who is quite touched that they wanted to give her a gift

[KAggie97 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every boy, especially those of us that grew up in the country and had that one friend who was like a brother, should read the "Soup" books. They're full of adventure, laughs,and heart. This book, especially, reminds me if when I was a boy wandering around the fields and country roads of Richmond, TX. Such good memories. R.I.P. Israel.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

We now have the first five books of this series. They are too funny and too fun to read. With four boys of my own, these are quite endearing little characters and such "boys". I think this book had a lot more depth and character than the first one...and it maintains its high entertainment value.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Newton Peck (the narrator) and his best friend Soup get into one hilarious adventure after another. For this novel, Rob's terrifying nemesis makes a particularly vivid impression on me.

Hilarious, lively, never a dull sentence.

FIVE STARS, of course.

[Mikelle Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun book to read to my son!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read and enjoyed as a kid

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Janice Riker is the toughest kid in town and Soup and Rob's number one enemy. One warm May day, just after school, Soup and Rob go to Putt's Pond "just to look". This is their favorite summertime swimming hole. The water looks so inviting that they defy their mothers' wishes and go for a swim. While the boys are sunning on a log in the middle of the pond Janice Riker sees them. At first she contents herself by throwing rocks at Soup and Rob. Then she begins to throw their clothes. The boys watch helplessly as their shoes, pants, and shirts sink hopelessly out of sight. Soup and Rob, now stark naked, sneak home by way of the Baptist Church where they see women carrying bags of clothing into the building. They climb through an unlocked window to find only women's clothing. They each don a dress and head for home where they are met by two very irate mothers. The boys build the "Silver Bullet", a tank made out of a discarded water heater. They attempt to ram Janice Riker's go-cart as payback for her running them down on the road. Soup and Rob only succeed in ramming Mrs. Stetson's garden. While the boys hide Janice Riker unwittingly takes the blame and the punishment. Soup gives Rob the shortest haircut he's ever had so that they can spend the haircut quarter on bubble gum. They steal a big pumpkin from Mr. Sutter's garden and "accidently" crash a Halloween party. Rob endures a school dance with Janice as his partner. Norma Jean Bissell was to be Rob's dance partner, but she gets sick with chicken pox on the day of the dance. Soup, Janice's original partner, fakes a sprained ankle to avoid dancing with her. Rob feels quite happy when he hears that Soup has the chicken pox, too.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Stephania · Rating 2 out of 5]

Robert and Luther set out to get into many different situations without getting in too much trouble... (one way was when Soup gave him a haircut because they wanted to use the quarter to get gum instead of pay for a haircut or they tried to chase a turkey and catch it)Soup and me is definitely a classic book that was written before I was born. The best way to tell is the language and slang that we take for granted in this day and age. We pay no attention to it in books we read because it is the way we have conformed as a society to talk. It is written in the old way that kids used to talk where now we hear totally different language.

This book was alright not something that I would want to read over and over again. It was probably really good for its time and loved by many kids.

Mischief, boys will be boys, action

[Lisa the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

In college I attended a seminar with Robert Newton Peck. He was hilarious! His books tend to be very funny as well. I found myself chuckling through this one.

Some of the things described in the book are a bit difficult for kids today to comprehend. They don't really know what a victrola is or much about crank to start cars. I had to do some background education with them and showed them some photos. That helped.

Read to the fourth grade classes.

[HeavyReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't remember a dang thing about the plot of this book, but the cover I remember clearly. It's a blast from my past! (I do wish I could remember the plot, though. I'm only giving it two stars, due to the fact that I can't remember anything about it.)

I helped someone on Whatsthatbook.com find this book, so I am putting it on my "found" shelf. Here's the link to the thread

http://www.whatsthatbook.com/index.ph...

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one has the story I remember best: Quarter for a Haircut. I got it to read to my book club ladies, because they all read A Day No Pigs Would Die, but they did not all read Soup, so I thought the haircut story would be a good sampling for them. Some of these still made me laugh out loud. I know they're getting more and more outdated, but I still love the picture they paint of a life that was far more simple and had some wonderful (and some really sad) things in it.

[Duane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I have his original book in the series. This one just didn't have the charm or wit his other book did. I'll read another in the series and hope this one was a fluke.

[Shawn Cunningham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tells of the story between the author and "Soup".

Publisher: Yearling
Publication Date: 1979

Audience: 8-12 yrs.
specific use: independent practice
literacy elements: humor
genre: comedy

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great sequel to "Soup." As I get to know the characters better these books become more hilarious. I think I'm going to have to buy the series to have around for future generations to enjoy, and for me to pull out on occasion for a good chuckle.

[Jennifer Hoyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it to my 3 boys (8,13,14). I would love a reading list of books like this. The stories didn't seem fictional at all, how boys used to get into all sorts of mischief, so there was plenty to discuss with the kids about it.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great childrens book. A fun adventure of two boys!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful, funny, heartwarming story. My boys ages 7 & 8 loved it. It is a relief to read a truly well-written children's book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

More adventures of Soup. Chronicles the escapades and scrapes of a pair of small-town buys. There is a sweetness to the narrator, Robert, that is wholesome and endearing.

[Cws]

JAR4-Pec

[Jerry Wheeler]

One of my favorite series as a kid.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember my 5th/6th grade teacher reading us these books. Classic!

[Michelle Stutzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a funny story if you get thrugh it without laughing it would be a crying shame!

[Jennifer B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book about friendship.

[Danchu]

this book is a very nice book

[Malinda]

Another great short novel by Robert Newton Peck. Recommended for older kids or adults.

[Amanda Wige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny. I liked it.