Superfudge

Life was going along okay when my mother and father dropped the news. Bam! Just like that.
We have something wonderful to tell you, Peter, Mom said before dinner. She was slicing carrots into the salad bowl. I grabbed one.
What is it? I asked. I figured maybe my father s been made president of the company. Or maybe my teacher phoned, saying that even though I don t get the best grades in the fifth grade, I am definitely the smartest kid in the class.
We re going to have a baby, Mom said.
We re going to what? I asked, starting to choke. Dad had to whack me on the back. Tiny pieces of chewed up carrot flew out of my mouth and hit the counter. Mom wiped them up with a sponge.
Have a baby, Dad said.
You mean you re pregnant? I asked Mom.
That s right, she told me, patting her middle. Almost four months.
Four months! You ve know for four months and you didn t tell me?
We wanted to be sure, Dad said.
It took you four months to be sure?
I saw the doctor for the second time today, Mom said. The baby s due in February. She reached over and tried to tousle my hair. I ducked and got out of the way before she could touch me.
Dad took the lid off the pot on the stove and stirred up the stew. Mom went back to slicing carrots. You d have thought we were discussing the weather.
How could you? I shouted. How could you? Isn t one enough?
They both stopped and looked at me.
I kept right on shouting. Another Fudge! Just what the family needs. I turned and stormed down the hall.
Fudge, my four- year-old brother, was in the living room. He was shoving crackers into his mouth and laughing like a loon at Sesame Street on TV. I looked at him and thought about having to go through it all over again. The kicking and the screaming and the messes and more-much more. I felt so angry that I kicked the wall.
Fudge turned. Hi, Pee-tah, he said.
You are the biggest pain ever invented! I yelled.
He tossed a handful of crackers at me.
I raced to my room and

JUDY BLUME spent her childhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey, making up stories inside her head. She spent her adult years in many places, doing the same thing, only now she writes her stories down on paper. Her numerous books have won many awards, including the National Book Foundation s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
 
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is the first in a five-book series about Peter, Fudge, and Sheila.
Judy lives with her husband in Key West and New York City. You can visit her at judyblume.com.

Praise for Judy Blume and the Fudge books:

Each [Fudge book] is packed with wacky earthy disasters that are her trademark and that children love to read about . . . Judy Blume has a knack for knowing what children think about and an honest, highly amusing way of writing about it. The New York Times
 
It s a pleasure to watch a talented author like Judy Blume consistently create books that reflect a
remarkable ability for combining humor with perceptive insight into a child s world. Publishers Weekly
 
Blume has her eye on the fine details of life, whether funny or frustrating. Booklist
 
For anyone who has ever been burdened by a pesky younger brother, there s fast and funny
reading in this story. Children s Digest on Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
 
As usual, Blume s humor and pitch-perfect ear for sibling rivalry and family dynamics will have readers giggling with recognition. Newcomers and Fudge fans alike will savor this installment in the well-loved series. Booklist on Double Fudge
 
  Fudge-a-Mania infects kids with giggles. BookPage on Fudge-a-Mania