Double Fudge

Double Fudge

by Judy Blume

Narrated by Judy Blume

Unabridged — 4 hours, 40 minutes

Double Fudge

Double Fudge

by Judy Blume

Narrated by Judy Blume

Unabridged — 4 hours, 40 minutes

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Overview

Fudge is back and he's discovered money in a big way. He's making his own "Fudge Bucks," dressing as a miser for Halloween and thumbing through catalogs before bed, choosing birthday and Christmas presents years in advance - much to the embarrassment of his family, especially older brother Peter, who's just starting 7th grade. But things begin to change when the Hatchers discover their long-lost relatives, The Howie Hatchers of Honolulu, Hawaii - not exactly your everyday family. With new cousins, Flora and Fauna, and 4 year old Farley Drexel - yes, that's right, another Farley Drexel! - the stage is set for a wild and wacky beginning to a new school year.

Editorial Reviews

bn.com

The Barnes & Noble Review
Hang on to your money clips, and get ready to laugh -- Judy Blume's rascally Fudge Hatcher has returned in this comical new book, and this time, he has dollar signs in his eyes. When five-year-old Fudge discovers money and thinks his family doesn't have enough, he decides to create his own Fudge Bucks. Unfortunately he's gone a bit overboard, and his family decides to visit Washington, D.C., to "let him see the green stuff hot off the press." While there, Fudge and company run into their distant cousins from Honolulu, who wind up coming to New York City and camping out with the Hatchers for a while. What a group! Cousin Howie calls Dad Tubby; Flora and Fauna, the twin Natural Beauties, end each other's sentences and break out into song; and another little Farley Drexel -- nicknamed Mini after a slight disagreement over the use of the name Fudge -- has Fudge going totally berserk. Double Fudge is a zany romp that will satisfy your craving for the kid who's always cooking up silly ideas. The shenanigans are in full force, and with Mini around, it's fun to see Fudge getting frustrated with a younger mischief maker. A fast read that'll even help kids learn a bit about money and life in the Big Apple, this nutty installment is another Blume winner. Doubly entertaining. Matt Warner

Publishers Weekly

Fans of Superfudge and Fudge-a-Mania will welcome the return of seventh-grader Peter Hatcher and his five-year-old brother, Fudge, who in this comical caper meet distant cousins from Hawaii. The two families unexpectedly encounter one another in Washington, D.C., where the New York City Hatchers have gone so that Fudge, who has developed an obsession with money, can visit the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The Howie Hatcher clan proves an eccentric lot. Twins Fauna and Flora, unironicially nicknamed the Natural Beauties, would be in Peter's grade if they weren't home-schooled; apt to break into corny songs at any moment, they perform together as the Heavenly Hatchers. Their younger brother, who shares Fudge's real name (Farley Drexel), acts like a dog, growling and licking people. And their father won't stop calling Peter's dad "Tubby." Narrator Peter grits his teeth when the Honolulu Hatchers invite themselves to Manhattan to stay in his family's cramped apartment, where nestled in their sleeping bags on the living room floor they "slept flat on their backs, like a row of hot dogs in their rolls. All that was missing was the mustard and the relish." The boy is further appalled when the twins show up at his school and convene an assembly so that they can sing. Peter's wry reactions to the sometimes outsize goings-on, Fudge's inimitable antics and the characters' rousing repartee contribute to the sprightly clip of this cheerful read. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-Judy Blume's book (Dutton, 2002) is a fun story with interesting characters, but lacks the plot focus of the earlier titles in the series. As in the previous stories, Peter Hatcher, now a seventh grader, tells about an episode in his life in which his mischievous brother Fudge-a nickname for Farley Drexel, who is now five-drives him crazy. The story begins with the discovery of Fudge's new fascination with money, and is headed in a comical direction when the Hatchers go to Washington, DC to visit the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. However, the plot is hampered when they run into Peter's father's long-lost cousin, Howie Hatcher, and his family. The Hatchers invite themselves to stay with Peter's family in New York City. Although Howie and his family are all hilarious characters, their introduction is a diversion from the original plot. The characterizations are enhanced by author Judy Blume's superb reading, which brings them to life with just the right intonation. Preteens, especially those with younger siblings, will relate to the ups and downs of Peter's compounded life, and Fudge fans will continue to find his antics amusing, though not fully developed here.- Cynthia Grabke, Thayer Public Library, Braintree, MA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Fudge Hatcher and his friends are back in the fifth installment of Blume's popular series. Five-year-old Fudge's newest obsession is money; he wants it so badly he even resorts to printing some of his own. On his first day of school, he finds a new friend, Richie Potter, who is endlessly interesting to Fudge: he's wealthy and not embarrassed to talk about money the way Fudge's family is. In order to take away some of the mystique about money, Fudge's parents plan a family trip to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This does little to stem his interest, but it does allow Fudge's father to run into a long-lost relative, Howie. This convenient coincidence pushes the narrative away from the story of Fudge and money to a rather unbelievable storyline. Howie's family is made up of his pregnant wife Eudora, 12-year-old twins Flora and Fauna (also known as "the natural beauties"), and four-year-old Farley Drexel Hatcher, which is also Fudge's real name. Howie insists on calling Fudge's father Tubby, a not-so-subtle reference to Mr. Hatcher's rotund childhood shape. The meandering plot turns into National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation when the homeschooling Hawaiian Hatchers invite themselves to stay in the already-crowded apartment shared by Peter, Fudge, baby Tootsie, and their parents. The apartment is strained to the breaking point as the pushy visitors overstay their welcome, invite themselves to Peter's school, and try everyone's patience. Too much is going on here, both in the Hatcher household and in Blume's story. Many of the plot strands are left hanging or are too neatly tied up. There's the bird who mysteriously loses his power to speak, and the artist whose paintings are made up ofbaby's footprints in paint. Add to that the Hawaiian cousins who sing showtunes. A few laughs can not redeem this busy, surprisingly unfunny book.

From the Publisher

"Judy Blume has a knack for knowing what children think about."—New York Times

"A fun story with interesting characters." —School Library Journal

FEB/MAR 03 - AudioFile

The pleasure is doubled in Judy Blume’s DOUBLE FUDGE. Not only do the escapades of Farley Hatcher, the incorrigible youngster of several previous Blume novels, continue, but the author herself is the narrator. The Hatcher parents, seventh-grader Peter, young Tootsie, Uncle Feather, Turtle, Grandma, and friend Jimmy continue to have their outlook on the world challenged by Fudge, who is now a kindergartener. Fudge’s current obsession is money: Where does it come from, how do you get it, and what can it buy? A trip to the mint in Washington, D.C., ever after known as Fudgington, provides the family with the discovery of the long lost Honolulu Hatchers, doubling their numbers. Who better to bring voice to her own characters than the author herself? Judy Blume knows this family intimately and adds meaning, nuance, and humor to each scene with every elongated syllable, inflected word, and pregnant pause. Her delight in this family is evident and infectious. Laugh aloud as this thoroughly modern family mirrors one’s own. A.R. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID: 2940172132797
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication date: 03/27/2007
Series: The Fudge Seres , #5
Edition description: Unabridged
Sales rank: 1,146,491
Age Range: 8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1

The Miser

When my brother Fudge was five, he discovered money in a big way. "Hey, Pete," he said one night as I was getting out of the shower. "How much would it cost to buy New York?"

"The city or the state?" I asked, as if it were a serious question.

"Which is bigger?"

"The state, but all the good stuff is in the city." People who don’t live in the city might disagree, but I’m a city kind of guy.

"We live in the city, right?" Fudge said. He was sitting on the open toilet seat in his pajamas.

"You’re not doing anything, are you?" I asked as I toweled myself dry.

"What do you mean, Pete?"

"I mean you’re sitting on the toilet, and you haven’t pulled down your pj’s."

He swung his feet and started laughing. "Don’t worry, Pete. Only Tootsie still poops in her pants." Tootsie is our little sister. She’ll be two in February.

Fudge watched as I combed my wet hair. "Are you going someplace?" he asked.

"Yeah, to bed." I got into clean boxers and pulled a T-shirt over my head.

"Then how come you’re getting dressed?"

"I’m not getting dressed. Starting tonight, this is what I wear instead of pajamas. And how come you’re still up?"

"I can’t go to sleep until you tell me, Pete."

"Tell you what?"

"How much it would cost to buy New York City."

"Well, the Dutch paid about twenty-four dollars for it back in the sixteen hundreds."

"Twenty-four dollars?" His eyes opened wide. "That’s all?"

"Yeah, it was a real bargain. But don’t get your hopes up. That’s not what it would cost today, even if it were for sale, which it’s not."

"How do you know, Pete?"

"Believe me, I know!"

"But how?"

"Listen, Fudge . . . by the time you’re twelve there’s a lot of stuff you know, and you don’t even know how you know it."

He repeated my line. "There’s a lot of stuff you know and you don’t even know how you know it!" Then he laughed like crazy. "That’s a tongue twister, Pete."

"No, that’s just the truth, Fudge."

The next day he was at it again. In the elevator he asked Sheila Tubman, "How much money do you have, Sheila?"

"That’s not a polite question, Fudgie," she told him. "Nice people don’t talk about their money, especially in these times." Sheila gave me a look like it was my fault my brother has no manners. I hope she’s not in my class this year. I hope that every year, and every year she’s there, like some kind of itch you can’t get rid of, no matter how hard you scratch.

"I’m nice," Fudge said, "and I like to talk about money. You want to know how much I have?"

"No," Sheila told him. "It’s nobody’s business but yours."

He told her anyway. I knew he would. "I have fourteen dollars and seventy-four cents. I mise my money every night before I go to sleep."

"You mise your money?" Sheila asked. Then she shook her head at me like it’s my fault he thinks mise is a word.

Henry, who runs the elevator in our building, laughed. "Nothing like having a miser in the family."

"You don’t have to be a miser, Fudge," Sheila said. "If you like counting money so much, you can work at a bank when you grow up."

"Yeah," Fudge said. "I can work at a bank and mise my money all day long."

Sheila sighed. "He doesn’t get it," she said to me.

"He’s only Þve," I reminded her.

"Almost six," he reminded me. Then he tugged Sheila’s arm. "Hey, Sheila . . . you know how much the Dude paid for New York City?"

"The Dude?" Sheila asked. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Not the Dude," I told Fudge. "The Dutch."

"His name was Peter Minuit," Sheila said, like the know-it-all she is. "And he paid the Wappinger Indian tribe in trinkets, not cash. Besides, the Indians thought they were going to share the land, not sell it."

"Sharing is good," Fudge said. "Except for money. I’ll never share my money. My money is all mine. I love my money!"

"That’s a disgusting thing to say," Sheila told him. "You’re not going to have any friends if you talk that way."

By then the elevator reached the lobby. "Your brother has no values," Sheila said as we walked to the door of our building. Outside, she turned and headed toward Broadway.

"How much do values cost?" Fudge asked me.

"Not everything’s for sale," I told him.

"It should be." Then he skipped down to the corner singing, "Money, money, money . . . I love money, money, money . . ."

That’s when I knew we were in big trouble.

"It’s just a stage," Mom told me later when I pointed out that Fudge is obsessed by money.

"Maybe, but it’s still embarrassing," I said. "You better do something before school starts."

But Mom didn’t take me seriously until that night at dinner when Dad said, "Please pass the salt, Fudge."

"How much will you give me for it?" Fudge asked. The saltshaker was sitting right in front of him.

"Excuse me," Dad said. "I’m asking for a favor, not hiring someone to do a job."

"If you hire me I’ll pass the salt," Fudge said. "How about a dollar?"

"How about nothing?" I said, reaching for the salt and passing it to Dad.

"No fair, Pete!" Fudge shouted. "He asked me, not you."

"Thank you, Peter," Dad said and he and Mom shared a look.

"I told you, didn’t I?" I said to them. "I told you we have a big problem."

"What problem?" Fudge asked.

"You!" I said.

"Foo!" Tootsie said from her baby seat, as she threw a handful of rice across the table.

"What’s the difference between dollars and bucks?" Fudge asked the next morning at breakfast. He was drawing dollar signs all over the Cheerios box with a red marker.

"Bucks is just another word for dollars," Mom told him, moving the cereal box out of his reach.

"Nobody says bucks anymore," I said. "Where’d you hear about bucks?"

"Grandma was reading me a story and the guy called his money bucks," Fudge said. "He had Þve bucks and he thought that was a lot. Is that funny or what?" He shoveled a handful of dry Cheerios into his mouth, then washed them down with a swig of milk. He refuses to mix his cereal and milk in a bowl like everyone else.

"Five dollars is nothing to sneeze at," Dad said, carrying Tootsie into the kitchen. "I remember saving for a model airplane that cost four dollars and ninety-nine cents, and in those days that was a lot." Dad sat Tootsie in her baby seat and doled out some Cheerios for her. "Somebody’s been decorating the cereal box," he said.

"Yeah . . . the miser’s learned to draw dollar signs," I said.

It wasn’t long before the miser started making his own money. "Fudge Bucks," he told us. "I’m going to make a hundred million trillion of them." And just like that, with one box of markers and a pack of colored paper, he was on his way. "Soon I’ll have enough Fudge Bucks to buy the whole world."

"Why don’t you start with something smaller,"
"Good idea, Pete. I’ll start with Toys ‘R’ Us."

"The kid has no values," I told my parents after Fudge went to bed. They looked at me like I was some kind of crazy. "Well, he doesn’t," I said. "He worships money."

"I wouldn’t go that far," Dad said. "It’s not unusual for young children to want things."

"I want things, too," I reminded Dad. "But I don’t go around obsessing about money."

"It’s just a phase," Mom said this time.

We could hear Fudge as he started to sing, "Oh, money, money, money . . . I love money, money,
As soon as he stopped, Uncle Feather, his myna bird, started. "Ooooo, money, money, money . . ."

Turtle, my dog, lifted his head and howled. He thinks he can sing.

Dad called, "Fudge . . . cover Uncle Feather’s cage and get to sleep."

"Uncle Feather’s mising his money," Fudge called back. "He’s not ready to go to sleep."

"How did this happen to us?" Mom asked. "We’ve always worked hard. We spend carefully. And we never talk about money in front of the children."

"Maybe that’s the problem," I told them.

(Continues…)



Excerpted from "Double Fudge"
by .
Copyright © 2007 Judy Blume.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Young Readers Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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