Fudge-a-Mania

by Judy Blume

Grades 3-7; Genre - Fiction; GRL Q; AR pts: 3.0

Peter Hatcher can't catch a break. His little brother, Fudge - the five-year-old human hurricane - has big plans to marry Peter's sworn enemy, Sheila Tubman. That alone would be enough to ruin Peter's summer, but now his parents have decided to rent a summer home next door to Sheila the Cootie Queen's house. Peter will be trapped with Fudge and Sheila for three whole weeks!

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

1. What news did Fudge given Peter that
   made him pretend to faint? He announced he was going to marry Sheila Tubman
   p.3
2. Where is Peter’s family going for vacation
   and with whom? In Maine; next door to the Tubmans p.5

Chapter 2

1. Why is Peter dreading living next to
   Sheila for three weeks? He doesn’t like her; they’re enemies p.7
2. Who did Peter’s mom say he could
   bring with him on vacation? A friend; Jimmy Fargo p.9
3. Why did Jimmy only want to be in
   Maine for a week? He’s not used to bigger families since he’s the only child
   and it’s just his father and him p.12

Chapter 3

1. Who served Peter’s family lemonade
   when they arrived at their destination? Sheila’s grandfather, Buzzy Senior
   p.16
2. Why was Peter upset about the house
   they were staying in? It’s only separated from Sheila’s house by an inside
   door and he told Jimmy there was a forest between his and Sheila’s house p.20
3. Why did Fudge and his dad run for the
   car when Turtle came running out of the woods? Turtle had been sprayed by a
   skunk and they wanted to escape the smell by going to the store p.21

Chapter 4

1. Describe the portion of the house
   Peter and his family are staying in? there’s only three bedrooms and one
   bathroom; no kitchen or living room, they’ll share those with the Tubmans p.22
2. Describe the area Peter’s staying
   with his family in Maine. There’s a bike shop, a library, a bookstore, the
   airport is nearby p.24

Chapter 5

1. Why was Sheila opening all the
   windows in the house? she didn’t like the smell of Maine and wanted to air the
   house out p.29
2. Why was Uncle Feather missing? Fudge
   let him out of his cage and Sheila had opened the windows p.29
3. Where did they find Uncle Feather? Chasing
   Libby around the house p.39

Chapter 6

1. Why was Sheila more prepared to
   babysit Fudge now than before? Fudge was older and she’d taken a babysitting
   course p.41
2. Why was Peter so happy to be doing
   his own thing? He didn’t get alone time very often p.46
3. What did Peter end up doing? Hanging
   out with Sheila and Fudge p.47

Chapter 7

1. What good news did Mitzi give Peter? That
   her grandfather was one of his favorite baseball players and there’s a baseball
   game every Sunday p.52
2. Why did Peter feel like he needed to
   lie to Jimmy? He was worried Jimmy wouldn’t come up and stay with him because
   of Sheila, so he concocted a story p.56

Chapter 8

1. Why was Mitzi afraid to walk to the
   back of the house by herself? She was worried that there would be a monster
   and she forget her monster spray p.59
2. What’s Fudge-a-mania? Being silly
   and crazy; ex. turning in circles p.62
3. Explain why it isn’t easy being the
   first born. Listen to your child’s answers p.67

Chapter 9

1. What book at the library did Fudge
   want? Tell me a Fudge p.73
2. What did Fudge do when the library
   didn’t have it? He threw himself on the floor and threw a tantrum p.74
3. What idea did Izzy give to Fudge
   since he didn’t have a book already written? Write one himself; or tell
   someone what he’d like to have written p.75
4. Why was Peter disappointed when he awoke
   that morning? He wanted to dream about Isobel and instead dreamt about
   Sheila p.78

Chapter 10

1. Why can’t Sheila’s friend come to
   Maine? She has the chickenpox p.79
2. Why did Sheila feel like everyone was
   picking on her? Her friend couldn’t come, Tootsie flung oatmeal on her face
   and Peter burped, but thought he was laughing at her p.80
3. Why does Fudge want to get married? So
   he won’t get monsters in his bed p.82
4. What was the consequence of Peter
   telling the truth to Jimmy about the living arrangements? Jimmy was ok with
   it p.91

Chapter 11

1. Why did Jimmy want to go to town? To
   see Isobel since she made Peter feel like he was floating p.98
2. What does I.S.A.F. stand for? I
   swallowed a fly p.102
3. Why did Peter pour his juice over
   Fudge’s head? Fudge wouldn’t stop talking about eating turtles and how he
   ate his turtle p.105

Chapter 12

1. Why was Fudge all blue? He ate
   lots of blueberries p.108
2. Why wasn’t Fudge going sailing? He
   was too sick p.112
3. Why did Muriel take over when the group
   was on their way back to the dock? A storm came up and she knew how to handle
   the boat better than Peter’s dad p.116

Chapter 13

1. What did Fudge oil his mitt with? Oil
   of Olay, a woman’s facial moisturizer p.122
2. What was Peter so excited for that
   morning? It was Sunday and he was going to get to play baseball with Big Apfel
   the baseball player p.123
3. Give examples of why Peter wasn’t happy
   with the baseball game? He wasn’t on Isobel’s team, Big was hitting for both
   teams, he didn’t catch a fly ball and threw way over the 1^st baseman,
   he hit a pop fly and his grandma caught it, his team lost, Big encouraged
   Jimmy, but didn’t say anything to him p.127

Chapter 14

1. Who’s getting married in Maine and how
   does the family feel about it? Peter’s grandma and Sheila’s grandpa; shocked;
   they haven’t known each other very long p.137
2. Who all came to the wedding? All the
   family and everyone from town p.141
3. What was the deal Sheila and Peter
   made after the wedding? That they’d always hate each other p.146