Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

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Synopsis

As the oldest child in the Hatcher family, nine-year-old Peter is the "good" kid who never gets into trouble. The same cannot be said for his little brother, Fudge. Whether he's throwing a tantrum in the shoe store, destroying Peter's school project, or taking a flying leap off a jungle gym while pretending to be a bird that results in his front teeth getting knocked out, Fudge always seems to be getting into mischief. Peter is already annoyed with Fudge almost daily, but when Peter's pet turtle, Dribble, disappears and he finds out what Fudge did to the tiny reptile, Peter has had more than enough and can't help wondering when he'll start getting the same attention that Fudge does.

Review

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is the first book in Judy Blume's classic children's chapter book series, Fudge. Peter Hatcher is an ordinary nine-year-old in fourth grade who just wants peace and quiet, but with his troublemaking little brother, Fudge--who turns three in the story--around, peace and quiet are hard to find. Peter is also a little jealous of how Fudge always seems to be the one who gets all the attention, while Peter is just a "fourth grade nothing." Told in a series of vignettes about the Hatcher family, the story follows Peter and Fudge on all sorts of adventures and into a whole lot of trouble. Whether it's getting his dad fired from an advertising account, pretending to be a bird and knocking out his front teeth, or destroying Peter's school project, Fudge just can't seem to stop causing mayhem. But all that pales in comparison to what happens when Fudge finally gets ahold of Peter's pet turtle, Dribble.

I remember reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing as a kid, probably in upper elementary school, but I didn't recall much about the story. I just had a general recollection of liking it, although I also had a vague sense of being annoyed by Fudge as much as Peter is. Whether you find Fudge irritating or hilarious will probably depend on you point of view. Although I didn't have any younger siblings growing up like Peter, I think I related to him because he's the "good kid" who doesn't get into trouble, much like I was. I still relate to him for that reason, but re-reading the book through adult eyes, I think has given me a slightly different perspective. I've now lived through raising a son who, in many ways, was like Fudge at that same age. He could throw pretty big temper tantrums, get into all sorts of mischief (climbing on top of the stove to reach the cabinet above, breaking eggs on the kitchen floor and cutting his little sister's hair come to mind), and never met a child safety device he couldn't outwit or simply break. Now I also have a granddaughter who's nearly as spirited as my son was when he was her age, so I kind of get how little kids can actually be like Fudge sometimes. While frustrating at the time, I now look back on my son's antics with a sense of amusement, so I can also see the humor in the story.

Despite being completely annoyed with Fudge most of the time, Peter is actually a very good big brother. In fact, he's the one the adults look to when they need to persuade Fudge out of a particularly stubborn streak, because clearly Fudge actually looks up to his big brother and wants to emulate him. The only thing about the story that I found slightly troubling is that I'd completely forgotten about what happened to poor Dribble, Peter's pet turtle. Some kids will probably find it funny while others might be a little distressed like I was, so know your child's sensitivity level. Otherwise, though, revisiting Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was an enjoyable experience. I think any kid who has a younger sibling (or even ones who don't like me) will relate to Peter's tribulations with Fudge, and overall I'm happy to report that IMHO the book has withstood the test of time and is worthy of the label of modern classic.

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Judy Blume