Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
by
mmcphee
,
in Books at Epinions.com
,
Aug 30, 2007
Pros:
Funny story from my childhood that has stood the test of time
Cons:
Written like a fourth grade
The Bottom Line:
Still an enjoyable story after all these years, but better suited for independent reading than as a read a loud book.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
It has been a summer for nostalgia; time to share games, books and activities that I enjoyed as a child with my children. So I recently dusted off my copy of Judy Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing .
The Story
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is written in the first person from Peter Hatcher's point of view. This nine year old boy lives in a New York City apartment with his parents and younger brother Farley Drexel, better known as Fudge. Peter is a typical fourth grader; he goes to school, does his homework, plays with his best friend and does everything possible to avoid girls. Fudge, on the other hand, is a three year old boy taken to the extreme. His antics draw him a lot of attention, leaving Peter feeling overlooked by the rest of the world at times.
Ah, the Memories
I remember how much I loved Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing as a child. My husband, who has surprisingly little recall of his childhood, even remembers this book in great detail. Most of my under 40 co-workers can immediately recall the catch phrase "eat it or wear it." This was one of the books everyone in my generation read as a child or had read to them, as I remember my second grade teacher doing.
Today's Child
At almost 6, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was a bit long for my daughter to want to tackle on her own so she was more than happy to have me read it to her. She certainly seemed to enjoy the book, although it can be difficult to tell with her since Bugs claims to love everything. But I do have to say that she didn't seem to like it as much as I remember loving it or laughing as much as I laughed. I'm willing to chalk that up to age. I was about 2 years older when I heard the book for the first time and I think that 2 years of maturity would probably help her get a better feel for the book. I definitely plan to suggest she read it herself in another year or two.
Despite Peter and Fudge being 9 and 3 for the last 35 years, the book has aged remarkable well. There wasn't anything in the book that would date it specifically back to 1972. There is no mention of computers, video games or cell phones but nor do you get the feeling that they are missing from the story lines either. Peter and his classmates do borrow library books for a class project instead of using the internet, but it really did not make the book feel behind the times. I did opt not to read one section referring to mugging. While urban crime may add some realism to the story, I wasn't quite ready to destroy what is left of my young daughter's innocence.
Overall this was a book my daughter could relate to, having a little brother just a little younger than Fudge. The central theme of the book, sibling rivalry, doesn't seem to go out of style. While Fudge's behavior is extreme at times, to add humor to the book, I was able to point out to my daughter what can happen if you leave scissors and markers out!
And What Do I Think Now?
Well, I wasn't exactly impressed. Written from the viewpoint of a nine year old, it feels written by a nine year old. Lots of incomplete sentences, run on sentences and general poor grammar make Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing difficult to read aloud at times. Expecting "I" and getting "me" often caused me to pause. Many times I ended up having to reread a sentence because it ended unexpectedly. Since it is not central to the story, as in Junie B. Jones, the grammar and writing style came off as annoying and disrupted the flow of the reading for me.
As a parent I was appalled at the lack of adult supervision for Fudge. While this is the vehicle that lets him wreak havoc throughout the book, I couldn't help but questions the parents' judgment. Who puts a 3 year old in an aisle seat for their first movie? There are rarely any consequences for Fudge's behavior so it is no wonder he is out of control and Peter feels slighted.
Final Thoughts
Despite my issues with the book as an adult, I still recommend Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, although I don't know if it is as ubiquitous as it was when I was a child. I think the book is better suited for children who can read it themselves as opposed to reading it aloud. The book is written on a fourth grade level, but once children are confident readers they are ready to tackle Tales of a Fourth Grade and probably not be bothered by grammatical issues. This is a great book about sibling rivalry that stands the test of time for children, although not necessarily adults.
