Soup's Uncle

Soup #10

by Robert Newton Peck

A visit from Uncle Virus and his motorcycle gang stimulates Soup to new and ingenious schemes, involving a cache of moonshine, a motorcycle competition, and revenge on the dreaded Janice Riker.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Kids

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

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

[Leslie Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A kids book about how a crazy uncle comes into town. They go on a wild motorcycle ride with him, come to love him. When they see he has a bad drinking problem, they pour out all the alcohol and put water in instead. He gives them a $1 - instead of using it for food they enter the race looking like their Uncle. When they do, they have prize cash money so he can have a wedding with the girl he loves named Tacky.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite comical, lots of "innocent" mischief and the reason to stay away from alcohol, this story is not for the faint of heart.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soup's uncle, Virus, comes roaring into town with the rest of the Hardboilers. They are there to celebrate the annual Beer Belly Blowout. Rob and Soup watch for the motorcycle gang's arrival on top of Mr. Tightknicker's barn. While there their enemy Janice Ricker finds them and starts pelting them with cherry bombs. They escape and hide in Mr. Tightknicker's hay loft. While hiding the boys find many canning jars full of water. Why would he store water in his hay? When Uncle Virus takes them to a local tavern called Swill's Hole Rob and Soup find out that the "water" isn't water. Uncle Virus bullies them into telling him about Mr. Tightknicker's bottles. While Virus and his friends go to collect the canning jars, Rob and Soup take a ride on Uncle Virus' Harley. They reach the barn before the men, empty out the moonshine, and fill the jars with water. The next day, at the Beer Belly Blowout, Uncle Virus isn't feeling too well. His friends think he's swindled them and rough him up. Virus isn't well enough to enter his event. Soup decides that he and Rob will enter the contest for him. They dress up in Virus' clothes, take his motorcycle, and enter the ramp jump. They win! With the prize money, Uncle Virus buys an engagement ring for a lady biker named Tacky.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of the books in the Soup series, this has been my least favorite so far. The early books were fun little stories of youthful mischief and playfulness sprinkled with a few life lessons. This one is so implausible as to make it not much fun any more. Unlike the early books, I can't fathom anything remotely like this actually having happened.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little moonshine and motorcycle riding never hurt anyone, right? In this story, Soup and Rob get into buckets of trouble, but also protect a loved one along the way.