Doctor

Super Fudge

By: Judy Blume
Chapter 1: Guess What, Peter?

Peter learns that his mom is having a new baby and worse yet she’s
four months along! Peter is horrified that they’ve waited so long to tell
him and feels a little betrayed. He is not happy with the idea of ushering
a new baby into the family as he doesn’t seem to get along very well
with his younger brother, Fudge. Peterand Fudge are oil and water;
Peter is sensible while Fudge is outlandish and hyperactive. Peter can’t
imagine having “another Fudge” in the house. Fudge is a highly
intelligent, yet dreamy little guy that perceives his world in his own way.
i.e., he’s hyper active and likes to have conversations in songs that are
often limited to one word. In his anger, Peter, or Pee-tah asFudge calls
him, decides to run away from home, but his parents convince him to
stay for dinner by pointing out that he has no where to go since his
grandmother is away from home and his close friend lives in a single
bedroom apartment. Swayed by his parents’ cool logic and lured by the
smell of a home cooked meal, Peter gives up on his run away scheme.

Chapter 2: Cutchie-Chutchie-CooFudge is curious about how babies are made and in token Fudge
fashion he throws himself into learning about it wholeheartedly. His
mother borrows the book they used to teach Peter about babies, to
teach Fudge. Not only does Fudge learn the intricate details of how
babies are conceived, he shares these details with any and everyone he
meets incitingeverything from admiration to utter shock. The baby is
born while Peter is on a field trip to the museum. The family names her Tamara Roxanne which inevitably gets whittled down to just Tootsie.
Peter worries that people will make fun of her later on by calling her
tootsie roll. He shares this with his parents and they laugh. Peter
grumbles that his parents must havewanted a candy factory rather than
a family; although, he notes that he doesn’t have a candy nickname and
resentfully wonders why. Meanwhile, Fudge is struggling with being a “big
boy”. He’s yanked on the baby’s toes, hides her in the closet and
alternately tries to sell, give and pay people to take her away. Peter has
a heart to heart with Fudge about the privileges that come withbeing
older and although it doesn’t completely work, it makes Fudge consider
the benefits of being “big”.

Chapter 3: Another Something Wonderful

Life in the house is changing. Peter’s dad is doing the grocery shopping,
laundry is always being done, Fudge is regressing to infantile behavior
including bed wetting and his mom is feeling overwhelmed. Peter sees
her crying and tells herthat this is what she gets for having another
baby. His mom hires Libby as a babysitter for Fudge and Peter spends
his afternoons at his friend Jimmy Fargo’s house. He feels as if no one
misses him. Peter’s mom is thinking of returning to school to get a
degree in Art History. Peter is beginning to bond with Tootsie; he likes to
hold her while she’s sleeping. In the midst ofthis transition, Peter’s
parents decide to move to Princeton for a year to see how they like
being away from the city. Peter’s mom can also take Art History classes
there, possibly to counter act her postpartum depression. Peter is
incensed; another change so soon? He was just getting used to the
newness of everything. Peter is upset that yet again a major change inthe family was made with out his inclusion. His father also tells him that
he is taking a year off to spend with the family. Peter feels that his
sister must be more special than he was because his dad is changing
diapers and taking time off of work. Peter’s understanding of adult issues
causes him to fire off questions about the loss of income; he is very
unhappy about the...