Superfudge

Fudge #3

by Judy Blume

ACE 0142302295 (ISBN13: 9780142302293)

Farley Drexel Hatcher, otherwise known as Fudge, plans to be a bird when he grows up. As far as his older brother, Peter, is concerned, Fudge will grow up to be a big pain! Dealing with Fudge has been hard enough, but now Peter has a whole new set of problems. His parents have decided to move to New Jersey for a whole year! What's more, Peter's mom is going to have a new baby. How Will Peter survive if the new baby becomes a carbon copy of Fudge? --back cover

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Classics

Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Judy Blume spent her childhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey, making up stories inside her head. She has spent her adult years in many places doing the same thing, only now she writes her stories down on paper. Adults as well as children will recognize such Blume titles as: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret; Blubber; Just as Long as We're Together; and the five book series about the irrepressible Fudge. She has also written three novels for adults, Summer Sisters; Smart Women; and Wifey, all of them New York Times bestsellers. More than 80 million copies of her books have been sold, and her work has been translated into thirty-one languages. She receives thousands of letters a year from readers of all ages who share their feelings and concerns with her.
Judy received a B.S. in education from New York University in 1961, which named her a Distinguished Alumna in 1996, the same year the American Library Association honored her with the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. Other recognitions include the Library of Congress Living Legends Award and the 2004 National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
She is the founder and trustee of The Kids Fund, a charitable and educational foundation. She serves on the boards of the Author's Guild; the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators; the Key West Literary Seminar; and the National Coalition Against Censorship.
Judy is a longtime advocate of intellectual freedom. Finding herself at the center of an organized book banning campaign in the 1980's she began to reach out to other writers, as well as teachers and librarians, who were under fire. Since then, she has worked tirelessly with the National Coalition Against Censorship to protect the freedom to read. She is the editor of Places I Never Meant To Be, Original Stories by Censored Writers.
Judy has completed a series of four chapter books -- The Pain & the Great One -- illustrated by New Yorker cartoonist James Stevenson. She has co-written and produced a film adaptation of her book Tiger Eyes, and is currently writing a new novel.
Judy and her husband George Cooper live on islands up and down the east coast. They have three grown children and one grandchild.

Reviews

[Julie G · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a read-aloud with the most reluctant reader at my house, and she declared it, boldly, a five star book. (That has happened only one other time with this particular daughter).

It's unbelievable how “on” Ms. Blume was with this 3rd installment of her Fudge series. I think it's possible that's it's better than the original, TALES OF A FOURTH GRADE NOTHING.

We laughed and laughed, while reading this together. Truly, my daughter laughed so hard one night, she had to sit up and cough for a while. When she finished coughing, she ordered me to continue reading.

One weird bit: this chapter book was published in 1980, when I was a girl, and, though everything else about the story seems accurate and consistent, Peter's Christmas list (on page 141) includes a laptop computer, an MP3 player and CDs.

This gave me great pause. I could only confirm, anecdotally, that none of these items existed in 1980. I then did some homework and now I can officially contribute that neither MP3 players nor CDs existed in 1980. Apparently laptops existed, but were still experimental and not in common use.

The only thing I can imagine is that these changes must have been added in either 2003 or 2007, when this book was reissued, but I see nowhere in the book where these updates are indicated.

Is this really okay, to update language/make changes in a book, without making a note of it? My 12-year-old started arguing with me, telling me that I must be mistaken, that Peter couldn't have asked for these items for Christmas unless they actually existed, but I have proven that they did not.

Personally, I think this practice creates historical inaccuracies, and I don't like it. Books are time capsules; they capture the current time, not the future.

Either way, this story offers a beautifully written and witty narrative, well-developed characters and authentic dialogue. It's a classic!

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

In third grade or maybe it was second, I don't remember, but I had the same teacher for both grades so it's irrelevant to the story; so anyway in whatever grade, second or third, my teacher started to read from Superfudge to the class every Friday afternoon. The class got enthralled in the book, and getting a hold of the book from the school library was a pretty impressive feat since everyone in the class wanted the one copy. I can still remember exactly where on the shelf it would have sat if the book had ever actually been in, but trying to get this book became something on an obsession of mine, going to the shelf to see if the book was there on every library trip. Even after I finally did get a hold of the book from the library (when I was in fourth grade (or third), I think that the teacher actually had taken out the elusive only copy of the book to read to us from), I would still check on the status of the book being in or out everytime I stopped in the library. This book I hold as my first book obsession, and even though it never dawned on me to just go to the local bookstore, or maybe town library to get a copy, it still paved the way for many later obsessions with various books and getting them into my greedy little hands so that I could covet them forever and ever (this almost makes it sound like a stole the book, which I did not. Actually I never even owned this book, I only read it twice, both times by taking it out of the library like a person does. It wrong to steal from libraries anyway. Really really wrong.)

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's easy to see why this book is still among the best loved pieces of children's literature. Even though some of the references were contradictory--a sixth grade kid wears a shirt that says "Class of 1991," yet there are mentions of Cartoon Network and an MP3 player--the story involves family dynamics that don't change. Just like with Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, having a niece and two nephews has helped me understand the Hatcher family's struggles with Fudge much better than I did when I first read this in elementary school. Like a true classic, it stands the test of time.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is going to be the same review for all of the Fudge books because I read them when I was a child and am relying on my memories from over four decades ago.

I wouldn't ordinarily write a review for a book from so long ago, but I wanted to express my gratitude to Judy Blume for this specific series. My mom had an excellent grasp of English, but because of racism and xenophobia, she had internalized a fear of being judged as stupid and unworthy. This has always made me so sad because she was brilliant, and my brothers and I got her very, very smart genes (ok, some of our dad's too).

She went out of her way to keep learning English. She took every class at the library and then started taking classes at the town library when the library tutor told her that she'd taught my mom as much as she could. Then the community college told her to stop coming because she had nothing left to learn. But she had a heavy accent and had a hard time getting the grammar perfect (who has perfect grammar?????). Then one day, my sister-in-law gave my mom these Fudge books. She started reading them and gaining confidence from them and enjoying them. This was an important point - she needed some humor and levity in her life. We all loved my dad fiercely, but being his wife was very challenging. And for a perfectionist like my mom, these books gave her a small respite.

So for my mom's sake, I give this whole series five stars.

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book's beginning is interesting, but then the text becomes inconsistent and the ending was disappointing and it happened all of a sudden. I'm reading some books I have at home whose audios I found in Scribd, so I'm not giving up on any book in this list, even if I don't like the development of the story, because I want soooo much to improve my English.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable! Love this series and love Fudge. I will definitely be reading these to my kiddos when they are old enough. =)

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Teachers learn from books like this one. One should never read a book cold with children. I have made that mistake a few times in my career.

We had read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Wouldn't it be fine to read the sequel? Absolutely not!

We were halfway through. I read ahead some for the next few days and stumbled across a classic Judy Blume event. Yeah, the discussion of Christmas was highly uncomfortable for me. As a fourth grade teacher, I do not want to be the one who gives up the ghost. There is absolutely no need for that in this book, yet there it is! This infuriates me to no end. I now read none of the Fudge books because I can never recall which one is "problematic", so they all are off the reading list.

Curse you, Judy Blume!

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I very much enjoyed Judy Blume's 1972 Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, when our teacher read the novel to us in grade four in 1976 (and when I then reread the novel myself in 1977), even then, even as a ten and eleven year old, I found Peter Warren Hatcher's little brother Farley Drexel Hatcher (better known as Fudge) to generally be both a royal pain in the neck and yes, that Fudge was being constantly coddled and hardly ever really disciplined regarding his often unacceptable behaviours inappropriately lax parenting (being allowed to pretend to be a dog and demanding to eat sitting on the floor, repeatedly ransacking his older brother's bedroom, and even when Fudge consumes and thereby kills Peter's pet turtle, while his parents finally do understand that Peter deserves sympathy and a replacement pet, I still do not think that especially Peter's mother ever in any way adequately disciplines Fudge and makes him see and understand that it was not only wrong but incredibly nasty and horrid for him to swallow poor Dribble).

Now with the above firmly in mind, I have therefore certainly approached sequel Superfudge with a rather heavy dose of reading trepidation. As for one, aside from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, I did not read any of the series sequels either as a child or as a teenager (and of course, two of the sequels were actually published in the 1990s and early 2000s respectively and thus when I was of course very much an adult) and was therefore rather worried that if the episodes presented by Judy Blume in Superfudge were similarly zany and at times bordering on the ridiculous as they often are in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing I would as an adult more than probably find them no longer all that amusing but for the most part just annoyingly silly, and even more importantly and for two, I was also legitimately worried and concerned that in particular Fudge would be as unmannerly, as undisciplined and as much of a thorn in his older brother Peter's side in Superfudge as he is, as he constantly was in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.

And sadly, my fears have been more than realised. For aside from a few choice scenarios that I have found rather enjoyable and even relatable in Superfudge (such as the Christmas and outing Santa Claus as a fake episode and how Judy Blume really does manage to capture Peter's reaction to having to move and in particular Fudge's negativity when the parents have a third child, how Fudge totally feels displaced by his new baby sister), I have found especially Fudge as a character still incredibly infuriating in Superfudge, still not in any way adequately parented and again in particular the mother way way too often sloughing her parental responsibilities with regard to her now middle son off on older son Peter.

And yes indeed, far far too often, instead of telling Fudge a categorical NO, both parents, both the mother and the father, obviously seem to still consider his behaviour and his repetitively annoying speeches generally cute and funny and sometimes even seem to reward Fudge's mouthiness and his tendency to constantly verbally harass Peter and others (and no, the parents letting Fudge get away with all kinds of problematic and possibly even offensive behaviours until finally losing patience and engaging in physical discipline, in other words making use of spanking, is not acceptable parenting in any manner either, as it also and certainly becomes abundantly clear in Superfudge that Fudge does not really care all that much if he is spanked, considering that he actually never really all that much changes his behaviour even if he has been physically disciplined and still gleefully and joyfully bothers and like a mosquito harasses Peter and his baby sister quite as much as before).

[Tatevik · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐ rounded down
200 pages of pure delight and fun. I don't want the series to end. Only 2 left.
Fudge is hilarious! I was reading this and in my head I was hearing how would Judy Blume read Fudge parts. No see? in this one, but Pee-tah-s just saved the day!

[midnightfaerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superfudge by Judy Blume is the third book in her Fudge series. Although entertaining and a nice addition, it's definitely for older children. While I could get away with reading the first and second book in the series to my five-year-old, this one had several sections I had to "fudge" over a bit. From the chapter on discovering where babies come from to the chapter on uncovering the truth about Santa Claus, you can tell this is very much a book from a sixth grader's point of view. I remember loving them when I was in fourth grade, but I was older. I think we'll hold off on finishing this series for a bit especially since I have so many others that I can't wait to read with my son. From Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, to the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, there's a huge stack of wonderful stories on my shelf waiting to be shared with my son. As for the Fudge series, it's still a beloved story in our house. So much so, that we've taken to calling my two-year-old twins Fudge 1 and Fudge 2. I highly recommend the series, just make sure you read them first if you want to share them with a younger child.

ClassicsDefined.com

[✧ hayley (the sugar bowl) ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

➳ 4 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

so, i don’t remember these books enough to give them each their own review but the fugde series is a hilariously funny, relatable series for kids and adults alike. i enjoyed reading this series even being a little bit older and i’d highly recommend this author

we follow the main character and his younger brother, fudge and occasionally get to see his arch-enemy, shelia. overall, this series has very interesting characters and is an enjoyable read about kids and their everyday, funny lives!!


୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆

[Ola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy Shnikes, I've forgotten how funny the Fudge books are. Some of the one-liners here are KILLER.

A new baby is born into the Hatcher family. Peter's family moves to Princeton for a trial year, to see if they prefer it over the city. Naturally all sorts of shenanigans occur---courtesy of Farley Drexel Hatcher himself.

[Britta Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was really good! I would recommend reading the first book before reading this one. I thought the characters were really funny and unique. I am kind of mad though that at the end they didn't do something else (I won't say because of spoilers, but if you read it you'll know). I would recommend this book if you want a funny book to read!

[Hafsa Sabira · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started with such a nice surprise and had such a promising plot but it just fell all out of place by the end of the book. Honestly,the first book was the best book in this series. I like how Fudge is still a little bit mischievous here but the way he talks or the way he behaves,suggests a little kid acting strange because of trying to seek attention. There's no innocence or beauty in this behaviour.
It felt like reading a new book having completely new characters whom I don't know at all. I miss Peter and I miss Fudge.

[Gordon Elijah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the part in "Superfudge" when Peter moved with his family for a year or two to Princeton. I also like the part when Peter and Jimmy Fargo made the deal before he moved to Princeton, and they both broke the promise so Peter and Jimmy Fargo both don't have to feel bad anymore for breaking their promises because now they both know that they both broke the promise. I also like the part when they go trick-or-treating and Peter took Fudge's phantom costume and then Fudge was like, "Hey, that's mine!" And Peter said, "If you don't let me wear it, you'll have to go trick-or-treating with your parents like the other kindergarten babies." The reason Peter was wearing Fudge's costume was because he saw his friend Alex wearing a costume which was a painting called Ante's Anger, which Jimmy Fargo's dad painted. It has two black circles and one red square and the red square was from Jimmy Fargo's mom who splattered it when she got angry and then got divorced from Jimmy Fargo's dad.

[Leyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book taught me how to handling younger annoying siblings and moving to another place is not easy .I congratulate Peter for doing such a good job in handling younger siblings and handling the stress of moving,changing schools,and changing friends.

I read this book in fourth grade and it really touched me and changed the way my brother and I get along.

Peter has to move and has a very annoying brother . When he thought anything else could go wrong he gets informed the family is welcoming someone .

I like Peter because he wants a to be with his friends and schools. But on the way to his goal he gets through obstacles will the obstacles stop him from achieving its goal.


Will he ever survive?

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Superfudge" is the sequel to Judy Blume's great classic "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" and it is as good if not better than the first book. I remember reading this book until the pages started falling out, so I just threw a couple rubber bands around it to hold them in. I hope to someday share these wonderful books with my own kids...

[Danylle DuPris · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Superfudge" by Judy Blume was a good book. I liked it, because it was an easy read, and also funny. Peter is the oldest sibling in the house. Fudge is Peters little brother. Peter and Fudge like each other, but as siblings, they don't really get along. Peters mom and dad want to have a talk with him. He goes into the dining room by them and sits down. They tell him they're having another baby. Peter doesn't like this. Once he tells Fudge this, he won't like it either. Fudge through a huge fit and told his parents to get rid of it. Another Fudge!? He doesn't get along with the sibling he does have. What is he going to do with another one?

Peter and Fudge have a lot of ups and downs in this book. They both love each other, but it's hard to get along with one another. They're going to be having another sibling join the family, and they don't like the idea to much. As their little sister comes along they learn to like her. They don't think she's to bad after all. When she's sleeping.

"Superfudge" takes place in New Jersey present day, and around the town. New Jersey is important in this book, because it has certain places and areas that Fudge and Peter go that really explain what it's like there.

There are a lot of themes in "Superfudge", but the one to stand out more is loving what you have. Peter and Fudge don't want a little sister around, but learn that she is now apart of the family, and they can't get rid of her. They can only love her. They came to realize that she's not that bad, and can be really funny at times

I would recommend "Superfudge" by Judy Blume to anyone in middle school and high school. It's a quick easy read, but you will also enjoy reading the book.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

4th-5th grade (independent reading)
Blume does such an excellent job with her books. They are an absolute joy to read. Superfudge was full of what a fourth or fifth grader wants, a fun and intresting plot, characters they can relate with, and text they can understand. The plot of Superfudge had twists and turns from the new baby's arrival to moves to and from the country. At the ages suggested above, children may relate if they have the same circumstances going on in their own lives. The characters of Superfudge are also easy to identify in a fifth or fourth graders own life. They may have a best friend who sells worms or a little brother who they can not stand. This book has an easy appeal to any student who is into realistic fictional books because Blume makes it so fun to read.
Language Arts/Sciene
Students could study the life of worms and their regeneration process.

[Jennahua2000 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fudge,Peter,Elaine,Joanne,Alex,and Jimmy went to the movies then Peter and Joanne fall in love when first Joanne offers peter some of his popcorn and touch hands then when Peter offers Joanne some popcorn too they touch hands again then right when the super man kisses Lois Lane Peter felt something icy cold go down his back Fudge was hanging in the back of my seat with a handful of ice cubes from his coke and said "Hi pee tah" and then Joanne offers Peter a kleenex. Then peter asked if she could wipe his back and neck when she was done she was holding peters hand. when peter was walking home with Alex and Jimmy Alex said so how does it feel like being in love?Later at school Mr.Bogner brought in a sprig of mistletoe

Alex rasied his hand and said who ever goes under it gets kissed and when the school bell rang he found

him self next to Joanne they looked at each other and Joanne kissed Peter on the cheek.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Judy Blume's sequel to "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing." It's considerably longer than its predecesor, I found it a tad too long. Odd since it covers the events of an entire year in less than 200 pages. It's fast paced and I liked the ending, the ending in fact was the best part of the book. I'm sorry, that came out sounding nasty. I didn't mean I was happy to see it end, just that the ending was well done.

In "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing," Blume takes more time developing the characters. She also ends each chapter more convincingly. I thought some of the endings in this book were kind of abrupt and I wasn't really sure where the story was going most of the time--or what the point of all this was.

Still a good book though, I enjoyed it. That's why I gave it three stars.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of my Judy Blume read through! Judy Blume is the most banned/challenged author in the United States so I've decided to read through her catalogue to see where the merit in banning/challenging her books lie.

So Superfudge is a return to the Hatchers. But this time they have a new addition to their family, a baby girl named Tootsie (or nicknamed such). Peter is having a hard enough time with Fudge and now has to deal with a baby. Fudge has to learn to share the attention as well. The family uproots and stays in New Jersey for a year so Mr. Hatcher can take a crack at writing a book.

This book has been banned/challenged in one state due to the lack of discipline for the children. And I will say these are terrible parents, way too lax. But I don't think this book is harmful in anyway. It's just irritating to read as an adult how wild these kids and their antics are.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in 1980, this story is about the relationship between brothers Peter and Fudge. Being the younger brother and outspoken, Fudge seems to find himself in some very interesting situations making for a outrageously funny story. I especially love that Fudge will say or do whatever comes to mind. In typical six-year old form, he climbs on top of a high shelf refusing to come down when his teacher insists on calling him by his given name. Hilarious. This is a really sentimental book, conjuring up times when boys road their bikes to school or to the lake for a picnic. Lots of fun to read.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just finished reading this one to my second grade son. After we finished the first book, he wanted to know what happened next. This is a series in which I feel the author should have stopped while she was ahead. She seems to be stretching to find funny things to write about and adding a new baby to the family didn't help the story line. Long chapters, overly descriptive, and not anywhere nearly as entertaining as "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing." But, if you are 8 and haven't had enough "Fudge," you will eat this story up.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know it's for a much younger audience but I'm trying to start the new year by knocking out these younger books and YA from the to-be-read pile. This book was SO cute and had a surprising layer of things going on for the story. From Blume it's usually so and I continued to grow more and more enamored with her work. I felt for the parents as what bratty children at times - they have much more patience than I do!

[John Hathaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and witty book from a preteen boy's perspective and his daily adventures with his younger, goofy brother nicknamed Fudge.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Owen: it was a great book. I really liked it. If you don’t read it...you...never mind. The most surprising part was when Tootsie said yuck. The funniest part was when Fudge was calling that teacher Rat Face. My favorite character was...actually I don’t have a favorite character. I like them all.

Mom: as good as the first! Fudge is in kindergarten now and Peter is in his last year of elementary school. The family goes through a lot of changes—new baby, moving, mom going back to work, Peter’s budding interest in girls—that I liked to see and have normalized in a kids book. We laughed a lot at Fudge’s antics and enjoyed reading this together.

⚠️ Santa spoilers

[Rose Baseil Massa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required 4th grade teacher reading :) didn’t disappoint!

[Katee Early · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved this when i was little but lowkey nothing happened?

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter deals with a new sister and a move all the while putting up with his brother, Fudge. This series continues to delight.