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In the run-up to Yuletide, I set out to re-read this series, which I think I last read when I was eleven, in order to beta-read NaomiK's Yuletide Fudge story, Fudge Ripple. This was a complete failure, as I'm still reading the series now to fully appreciate the story!
In this book, Peter Hatcher leads a very put-upon life due to his maniacal baby brother Fudge. His big consolation is his pet turtle Dribble. If you've never read or osmosed this book, I'm sure you can still guess the general outline of what happens.
My favorite Judy Blume books were her lesser-known ones, like Tiger Eyes and It's Not the End of the World. This book mildly traumatized me as a kid because of the particularly upsetting pet death in which FUDGE EATS DRIBBLE. I don't think I ever re-read it, so I was surprised by how familiar it was when I did thirty years later.
A lot of the book is genuinely funny, but it's overshadowed for me by the looming dread of Dribble's fate. Fudge repeatedly messes with Dribble, Peter asks his parents for a lock on his bedroom door, and his parents refuse because they think good families don't shut each other out. Fudge swallows Dribble and is rushed to the ER, and Peter is given a puppy who he names Turtle. I was relieved to see later in the series that Peter does get a lock on his door.
One thing I was surprised by was how young Fudge is. He turns three in the course of the story. I'd remembered him as four or five, which is still way too young for me to hold a grudge but it does make the turtle-eating make more sense and feel less deliberate. Not letting Peter lock his door was still spectacularly bad parenting though - they knew Fudge was messing with Peter's tiny pet, and the result was that Fudge killed the pet and put himself in danger too. I hope they felt guilty.
I can see why it's a classic - it's still very funny, Peter and his friends are very relatable, and the New York setting is vivid - but I liked Superfudge a lot more because it doesn't involve parental negligence leading to your brother eating your pet!
Fudge does take his new infant sister out of her crib and stick her in a closet though, which is not discovered for hours. The Hatchers are lucky he didn't drop her down the incinerator.
In this book, Peter Hatcher leads a very put-upon life due to his maniacal baby brother Fudge. His big consolation is his pet turtle Dribble. If you've never read or osmosed this book, I'm sure you can still guess the general outline of what happens.
My favorite Judy Blume books were her lesser-known ones, like Tiger Eyes and It's Not the End of the World. This book mildly traumatized me as a kid because of the particularly upsetting pet death in which FUDGE EATS DRIBBLE. I don't think I ever re-read it, so I was surprised by how familiar it was when I did thirty years later.
A lot of the book is genuinely funny, but it's overshadowed for me by the looming dread of Dribble's fate. Fudge repeatedly messes with Dribble, Peter asks his parents for a lock on his bedroom door, and his parents refuse because they think good families don't shut each other out. Fudge swallows Dribble and is rushed to the ER, and Peter is given a puppy who he names Turtle. I was relieved to see later in the series that Peter does get a lock on his door.
One thing I was surprised by was how young Fudge is. He turns three in the course of the story. I'd remembered him as four or five, which is still way too young for me to hold a grudge but it does make the turtle-eating make more sense and feel less deliberate. Not letting Peter lock his door was still spectacularly bad parenting though - they knew Fudge was messing with Peter's tiny pet, and the result was that Fudge killed the pet and put himself in danger too. I hope they felt guilty.
I can see why it's a classic - it's still very funny, Peter and his friends are very relatable, and the New York setting is vivid - but I liked Superfudge a lot more because it doesn't involve parental negligence leading to your brother eating your pet!
Fudge does take his new infant sister out of her crib and stick her in a closet though, which is not discovered for hours. The Hatchers are lucky he didn't drop her down the incinerator.
