Fudge-a-mania

Judy Blume
Fudge is five – and he’s driving his older brother Peter mad, as usual.
Going on holiday with Fudge – and baby Tootsie, Turtle the dog, and Uncle Feather the bird – means disasters every day. Even worse for Peter, disgusting Sheila Tubman is staying in the same house.
Will it be Peter’s nightmare holiday?
One thing’s for sure – it’s going to be fudge-a-mania all the way
I have read the Fudge series so much that I probably know each book off by heart. It starts off by Fudge telling his older brother Pete he is getting married…. There are three problems with this; Fudge is only 5, he is supposedly marrying Pete’s arch nemesis, the ‘queen of cooties’ herself, disgusting Sheila Tubman and, he hasn’t actually asked Sheila yet. Then they set off on a10 hour car drive to Maine for a family holiday with a noisy bird, a barking dog and a crying baby.
When they eventually arrive, the Tubmans are there already! Fudge makes new friends, teaches his pet bird to speak Spanish, writes a book about himself, turns himself blue and is a ‘ring bearer’ at his grandma’s wedding. A lot goes on in Fudge’s world and not a lot of it makes sense (except to fudge!)
These books have been around for years and years and have stood the test of time. My mum read these when she was younger and has read them to all the classes that she has taught. All the pages are falling out of our copies because they are so well thumbed. I recommend the whole series including: ‘Tales of the fourth grade nothing’ (first published in 1972 and the first in the series), ‘Superfudge’, ‘Fudge-a-mania’ and ‘Double Fudge’. There is also a spin-off story called ‘Otherwise known as Sheila the great’.
Verdict: When we read these books together even my dad comes in to listen and more than once we’ve laughed so much we cant go to sleep because we are so excited.
Reviewed by Daisy (11)