Double Fudge

Great book. Very funny.

great book of a great book collection

Entire Fudge series is so relatable and wonderful writing..my son reads the book over and over again and finds out similarity between he and his younger brother..

I read Judy Blume when I was 12 and I'm delighted to say my 11 year old is now enjoying also. She loves the characters. Try the series, it will not disappoint.

I had read the first three books in the Fudge series (plus Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great) when I was between the ages of ten and eleven. After I finished Fudge-a-Mania, I was convinced that was it for the Fudge series, and so apparently did Judy Blume. I was pretty surprised when I was in my early twenties and discovered that Ms. Blume had gotten the inspiration for this book in 2002. Why I didn't read it or get it in audio form then, I don't know. I finally got around to it seven years later in 2009. I ordered it from the public library, not knowing the happy mistake I'd made in ordering the audiobook. Then, I played it and was pleasantly surprised to hear Judy Blume reading the book herself. It didn't take me too long to listen to it, and I can remember feeling the main character's feelings of frustration from the beginning of the story to the end. It was, as Ms. Blume wrote near the end, "way too familiar." Peter Hatcher's younger brother Farley Drexel, a k a "Fudge" becomes obsessed with getting money during the period just before the school year begins. He wants to buy New York City, before deciding on something "smaller" like Toys R Us. The boys' grandmother suggests a trip to Washington DC, to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving will set Fudge straight, but this plan backfires. In addition, it's in the bureau's gift shop where Peter's father Warren stumbles on his long-lost cousin Howie Hatcher from Honolulu, a man who persistently calls Warren "Tubby," his wife Eudora, their "perfect twin daughers" Flora and Fauna, plus their soon-to-be-four-year-old son, also named Farley Drexel whom Peter nicknames "Mini." This encounter is badly overwhelming for Peter, who is embarrassed by how stuck up and self absorbed they seem to be, but it's nothing compared with what he has to go through when the Honolulu Hatchers materialize in New York, and Peter has to contend with interacting with them for seven weeks. This book was quite enjoyable from beginning to end. It was interesting to "witness," even as Fudge is living out his money obsession, his character and his little sister, Tootsie actually seems to be growing up a little. I was also impressed with how Ms. Blume successfully set this book in 2002 with amenities such as cell phones, online messaging, mp3 players and elevator surveillance which weren't in the earlier books. I can just imagine that most readers and listeners were glad to have this book.