Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing free essay sample

A week later, the father’s patience is broken and he dumps a bowl of cornflakes over Fudges head, leading to Fudges new favorite phrase, Eat it or wear it! . While being watched by Sheila Tubman on the playground in Central Park, Fudge jumps off the jungle gym, thinking he can fly, crashing to the ground and swallowing his top two front teeth in the process, and Peter gives Fudge a new nickname, Fang, which is not amusing to his mother. Peter is asked by her to supervise Fudges third birthday party, which ends up with some amusing and disastrous moments. Then his mother takes the kids to some errands. First she takes Fudge to the dentist to check on how his teeth are progressing again after the accident. Then Fudge throws a temper tantrum in a shoe store, since he wants to buy loafers like Peter is getting. We will write a custom essay sample on Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His mother is fed up when Fudge smears his mashed potatoes on the wall of a restaurant and dumps a plate of peas over his head. In January, Peter, Jimmy and Sheila are grouped for a class project which they are constantly arguing over, but Peter then finds out Fudge has made the situation more difficult by scribbling on the poster part of their project work. Then Peter finds out Fudge has been spanked by his mother, who finds out about what Fudge did to the poster. Then when the project is finally finished, Fudge cuts off his hair (as he thinks of himself as a barber, and the next day Peter gets a lock for his door. Two months later his mom finds out about her sisters first baby, so she visits them in Boston. Peters dad takes him and Fudge into work where they are trying to get Fudge to star in an advertisement on television. Everything goes wrong the next day when Fudge is taken to the movie theater and purposely makes himself almost lost. Then his father cooks a rather nasty-tasting mushroom omelet, which Fudge enjoys but then throws a tantrum when his father throws it away. The last straw is when Peter gets home from school to check Dribble. First he asks his mother, and then Fudge, who would not answer until Peter yanks pots out of his hand. The answer results in hospitalization because it was that he had swallowed Peters pet turtle. It turns out to be dead when the doctors got it out of Fudge, so Peters father gets Peter a dog to apologize about only giving attention to Fudge and not caring about the swallowed turtle. Peter names the dog Turtle to remind him. My Opinion The best thing about this book is the humor. You cannot stop yourself from laughing at all the funny stunts that Peter’s younger brother Fudge pulls, or even at Peter’s reactions towards him. Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing really grasps the concept of the funny side of siblings’ relationships. What I didn’t enjoy so much was that the attitude of Peter’s parents towards him throughout the book. I felt sorry for Peter at times and wished that his parents would consider his feelings too. It can be very frustrating being up against a younger baby brother, and the parents needed to be a lot more attentive to Peter than they were. This book is different from the other books that I have read because it is light, and humorous. Other books I have read have been really intense, creepy, or even boring. However, this book turned out to be pleasantly entertaining and relaxing at the same time. Other books have taken me about 1-2 weeks to read, but this book was so enjoyable that I couldn’t put it down and so I ended up completing it in just one weekend. I definitely recommend this book to my classmates because I know that everyone can sympathize with Peter’s character. Everyone has annoying siblings and have had many frustrating situations with them. I’m sure there have been many times when one has been falsely blamed or punished for their sibling’s actions. This book deals with these type of situations in a humorous way so that the reader can actually have a good chuckle when he or she relates the situations in the book to their past or current experiences, and see the brighter side of having sisters and/or brothers. Heart to Heart I have decided to interview the main character in the novel, Peter Warren Hatcher, a nine year old brother of an annoying baby brother named Farley Drexel Hatcher (Fudge). Me: So, tell me about yourself Peter. Peter: That’s easy, I’m nine years old, I live with my parents and two year old brother in New York City, near Central Park. My best friend is Jimmy Fargo, and I am in fourth grade. Me: What’s it like having a younger brother? Peter: Well, I’m not going to lie. It’s pretty tough. He’s always stealing my parents’ attention by doing naughty things. I get caught and have to try to set an example for him all the time, or compromising. For example, once there was a time when were at the shoe store and he threw a fit because I didn’t buy the same shoes as him. My mother made me buy the same ones just so that he could stop making a scene. I think when I like him the most is when he’s sleeping. Me: Surely it can’t be that bad? Peter: Are you kidding? Fudge is one crazy kid. He throws tantrums in public, embarrasses me, and is always getting in my way. I was forever trying to convince my parents to get me a lock for my room, but they just didn’t believe in locking out family members. They realized that they were wrong when he snuck into my room and ruined a class project. They ended up buying a lock but Fudge still managed to get in my room and swallow my pet turtle, Dribble. Me: Well Peter, it seems that you had quite a predicament with your pet turtle and Fudge. What were your feelings when your baby brother swallowed your pet? Peter: At first, I felt very upset and angry. I was upset because I was worried about what will happen to my pet, whether he would be able to make it or not. When I my mother yelled at me for even asking such a dumb question, I felt angry. How was I supposed to know that my poor turtle Dribble, would never make it out alive? I was also angry because all my parents cared about was Fudge. They weren’t even angry with him for going into my room without permission. Me: How did things turn out when Fudge got back from the hospital? Peter: Much better. My parents realized that they were hard on me, and appreciated my patience and cooperation. They rewarded me with my very own dog. (Laughing) He’s too big for Fudge to swallow! About the Author Judy Blume was born on February 12, 1938; her birthplace is Elizabeth, New Jersey. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Education from New York University in 1961. Judy Blume has written 22 books and has won more than 90 awards. More than 65 million copies of her books have been sold, and have been translated into 20 languages. With so many books you might wonder where she gets all her ideas†¦ â€Å"Ideas come from everywhere-memories of my own life including my children’s lives,† says Judy Blume. Judy lives with her husband George Cooper, who writes non-fiction, and have three grown children and one grandchild whose first word was, â€Å"book! †