Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Blume, Judy. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Puffin, 2007 (c. 1972). Paperback $ 5.99, ISBN-13 978-0142408810 

What’s it about? Peter Hatcher is sick and tired of being a Fourth Grade Nothing, overshadowed by his adorable,  havoc-wreaking, toddler brother Fudge. 

Find out more: Peter Hatcher is fourth grader with a cute younger brother, who goes by the nickname Fudge. Peter likes Fudge the best when he is asleep and puts his fingers in his mouth and makes a content slurping noise. When Fudge is awake, however, he is trouble. Like many toddlers, Fudge is in constant motion, exploring his environment (with the side effects of destructiveness and racket).  Peter is frustrated by the way adults treat Fudge and how Fudge gets away with awful behavior.  He feels like a fourth grade nothing, with his accomplishments and needs overshadowed by his little brother.

The title of the book is slightly misleading—the tales are Fudge-centric, which highlights how Peter feels—like a backdrop in his own life. Toddlers are egoists, and everything centers around them, which is tiresome when you yourself are still a child.  Peter comes across as more mature than his age, and his accounts of Fudge’s behavior are hilariously deadpan. The reader will feel sympathy for Peter, especially when he bears the blame for and the brunt of the misbehavior. There are some funny moments when Fudge’s idolization of his older brother Pee-tah comes in handy for handling Fudge’s difficult behavior, such as the ruse when Peter pretended to be getting the same type of shoes as Fudge. Any kid with a younger sibling will identify with Peter, and kids who are the babies of the family will enjoy the humor of these anecdotes. The target audience of this book is kids who are in upper elementary school. Both boys and girls will enjoy Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, which is still in print nearly 40 years later.

 I recall reading this book when I was in third grade and had a sister Fudge’s age. My sister was no Fudge—she was much better behaved (although she did swallow rocks and loose change).  I do remember feeling secondary to her, however, and I think most older siblings feel like Peter does when there is a sizeable age difference, especially in smaller families.  I loved every moment of the book, except for the fate of poor Dribble. I thought the turtle eating was impossible, and a literary device, but according to Blume, the inspiration came from an article published in the late 60s about a toddler who swallowed a pet turtle.

Genre label: Humor, Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Reading level: 3^rd grade

Interest level: Grades 3-6

Read-alikes:

Cleary’s Beezus and Ramona and Ramona the Pest

Subjects: Siblings, sibling relationships, family relationships, toddlers

Series information:

Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great (Judy Blume thinks of this as the second “Fudge” book)

Superfudge

Fudge-a-Mania

Double Fudge

Character name/descriptions:

Peter Hatcher—narrator & older brother to the mischevious toddler Fudge. Proud owner of an ill-fated turtle named Dribble

Jimmy Fargo—Peter’s friend and neighbor

Fudge—Peter’s younger brother, who ruins everything!

Sheila Tubman—Peter’s know-it-all classmate

Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself

Blume, Judy. Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself. Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, 2000 (c.1977). Tr. $18.99  ISBN-10: 0689840896 ISBN-13: 978-0689840890

What’s it about? The year is 1947, and 10-year-old Sally J. Freedman is convinced that Hitler is alive—and in Miami Beach, masquerading as an old Jewish man named Mr. Zavodsky.

Find out more:

Sally is a ten-year-old Jewish girl from New Jersey who spends the school year away from her father in Miami Beach because of concerns about her older brother’s health. Sally has an active imagination, and loves to tell stories to herself, stories where she plays the lead role (usually as an actress or detective hunting Hitler). She misses her father, whom she nicknames “Doey Bird” and hates her new school, which has no bathroom doors, and a mean lunch monitor. Eventually, Sally adjusts and makes new friends. There is a dark shadow looming over Sally, though, and this is the specter of the Holocaust, which took the lives of her cousin Lila and aunt Rose.  Many of her fantasies feature the Holocaust, and when she suddenly realizes that her neighbor Mr. Zavodsky bears a resemblance to Hitler, she begins to believe he actually is Hitler in disguise, hiding in plain sight. 

This is a rich, often humorous novel with underlying dark tones. In many respects, Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself is an even stronger offering from Blume than her better known Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. While Sally doesn’t go through the same soul searching as Margaret does, this book explores serious topics such as the Holocaust through the eyes of a child touched by loss, though in a removed way.  Sally’s understanding of adults is touchingly naïve. When the sixteen-year-old daughter of her neighbors, who are Orthodox Jews, becomes pregnant, Sally is confused. “Buts she’s not married,” she points out. The book her mother gave her to explain sex presented pregnancy as something that only occurred between married couples. There are plenty of moments when older readers will see more to the situation than Sally does, although younger tweens may also misunderstand things like paying under the table.

Another serious topic, though dealt with in a removed way as well, is segregation. Sally grew up in New Jersey, and doesn’t understand why there are two different drinking fountains. She took a drink from a “colored” drinking fountain and was yanked away by a strange woman. Sally writes to her father, asking if black and white people have different germs or something. He responds by saying that he thinks people have more similarities than differences, and that the North isn’t much better than the South. In the North segregation was just more subtle than in the South, which was very candid about its racism. 

One criticism I have about this book, which is otherwise amazing, is the non-stop overuse of ellipses in conversations. I understand that Blume is trying to convey conversational pauses on the page, but readers already do this mentally, don’t they? It’s a stylistic complaint. . . . but it drives me nuts! . . . . I adore this book . . . so I can overlook this flaw. . .  

Genre: Historical Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Humor

Reading level: 4^th-5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-7

Subjects: Jewish-Americans, Moving, Friendship, Story-telling, Imagination

Read-alikes:

Yee’s So Totally Emily Ebers

Cleary’s Emily’s Runaway Imagination

Characters:

Sally J. Freedman—the imaginative protagonist, a 10-year-old storyteller

Arnold Freedman, aka Doey-Bird—Sally’s beloved dentist father

Louise Freedman—Sally’s anxious and neurotic mother

Douglas Freedman—Sally’s genius, loner brother whose health is fragile

Ma Fanny—Sally’s witty grandmother

Andrea—Sally’s close friend who lives in the same apartment complex; she is in 6^th grade and acts as though she is light years older than Sally, who is just a year younger

Georgia Blue Eyes—Andrea’s crush

Peter Hornstein—Teases Sally mercilessly, but Sally eventually realizes she likes him

Mr Zavodsky—Sally thinks he is not a nice, older Jewish man, but Adolf Hitler in disguise

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Blume, J. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2010, c1970. Paperback $8.99 ISBN 978-0-3857-3986-3

What’s it about? Eleven year old Margaret has lots of worries about growing up, boys, and faith--even though her parents aren’t religious. She has always talked to God, but now she wants to find out where she hears him best--in a synagogue, a Protestant church or a Catholic parish.

Find out more:

Eleven year old Margaret Simon’s family has just moved to a New Jersey suburb, where everything is new—her friends, her school, the neighborhood boys, and the distance from her beloved grandmother, Sylvia Simon. She feels out of the loop about a lot of things, including kissing experience, puberty, and religion. Margaret shares her worries with God, including concerns about her crush, Philip Leroy.  She begins to resent the fact that her parents don’t practice religion, because other kids don’t have to choose—they are born into their faith.  Religion has driven a wedge between her maternal grandparents and the rest of her family, and when her trip to visit Grandma Sylvie is cancelled because her mother’s parents--who have never even met Margaret-- are visiting, Margaret’s faith is tested.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is one of the prolific Judy Blume’s best known novels. Blume has an uncanny knack for giving her young characters authentic voices, and Margaret is no exception.  She is an observant narrator, with refreshing and humorous candor. Margaret’s dilemma is frankly discussed; she is afraid of being the last girl in her class to develop and get her first period. She is eager for this to happen, and this is the topic of many of her prayers. It is touching that her relationship with God is so authentic, and sad that she doesn’t feel that she belongs in any particular faith. She concludes that she won’t make up her mind one way or another for a long while. Her conversations with God don’t end, though, as the book closes with Margaret relaying some exciting news to him. This is a book primarily for girls entering or about to enter puberty. This is not an easy topic for some girls to address, and it is refreshing to see a sympathetic portrayal of physical maturity that is neither crude nor saccharine sweet. 

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Friendship fiction, Humor

Reading level: 4^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-8

Subjects: Family Relationships, Puberty, Friendship, Religion

Read-alikes:

Naylor’s Alice series

Naylor’s Faith, Hope and Ivy June

Goldschmidt’s The Secret Blog of Raisin Rodriguez

Awards/Recognition:

Time Magazine named Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret as one of the

top 100 books written in English since 1923 

Characters:

Philip Leroy—the best looking boy in the class, but not the boy with the best character

Laura Danker—the tallest and most developed girl in the 6^th grade, victim of baseless rumors

Margaret—the protagonist, a frank girl with an interest in finding God—and puberty

Nancy—the leader of Margaret’s clique

Gretchen—another clique member

Janie—Margaret’s closest friend, also a late bloomer