Fudge-a-Mania
Penguin Group 2000
146 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Juvenile Fiction
This book is told from the percpetive of a young boy named Peter Hatcher. He and his family take a trip to Maine with some family friends. Peter isn't too happy to stay next door to his sworn enemy, Sheila Tubman, for 3 weeks. But his 5 year old brother, Fudge, couldn't be happier. He was convinced that he and Sheila would be married. The two families end up sharing a house together, and things get crazy. Someone leaves the window open, and lets Fudge's bird, Uncle Feather, out of the house. Fudge, and Peter end up meeting the wife of a retired famous baseball player. Silly adventures continue through out the book. Fudge doesn't end up marrying Sheila. But he has found himself a new puppy love named Mitsy, the granddaughter of the famous baseball player. But two people do end up getting married at the end, but not who you would have thought. Peter Hatcher's grandma marries Sheila Tubman's grandfather. This puts quite the twist on the story. Not only did Peter have to spend 3 weeks in the same house as his sworn enemy but he had to work through his differences with Sheila, because now they are cousins.
I would recommend this book to 3rd and 4th graders. But this book can get a laugh out of just about anyone!
What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause? The children in this book are not nice to each other. They call each other a lot of names and say rude things to each other. This possibly could teach children inadequate social skills.
My reaction: I loved this book when I was in grade school, and I still love it now. It is a witty and humoruous book! I give it 4 stars! ****
