Thursday, August 28, 2014

Fudge-a-Mania gets 4 Stars

Fudge-a-Mania, part of the Fudge Series by Judy Blume, book review gets 4 stars.  Well written, humorous read, great read aloud for a teacher or parent, and boys and girls grades 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th will LOVE this book and series.  It's just fun!  Alohamora Open a Book http://www.alohamoraopenabook.blogspot.com/

The other day I was between library books. I had finished several books and was waiting for a few of my library requests to come in.  I was looking at our book shelves trying to decide what to read when my 3 year old daughter came in the room and declared she would pick my book.  

My three year old picked out Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume.  The Fudge series is fun, and it has been far too long since I read any of them, so I gave it a go and quickly sped through all 146 pages.  

I would give Fudge-a-Mania 4 out of 5 stars.  It's a great book that is perfect for 2nd through 5th grade boys and girls; it is also a fabulous read aloud full of humor.  Plus, there are numerous opportunities for the teacher to include mini-lessons on various reading strategies or model what good readers do.  

This book is a fun book, keeps up a good pace, action driven, relateable, and full of the craziness only Fudge Hatcher can conjure.  It is definitely a classic series that no matter how old it is should be read by children for it's clean read and quality funny storyline.

The only bad thing I have to say about Fudge-a-Mania is that it is the weakest of the series and therefore disappoints the reader a bit b/c it is expecting Superfudge hilarity.    

Fudge-a-Mania is part of a series, but you really do not need to read the series in any particular order.  I love when series do that b/c you get to read about the characters you already love, but you can grab them off the shelf in any particular order you desire or can  This is great for teachers, parents, and librarians.  Series are great to get kids excited to read and about a book, but it is hard when they have to be read in order.  It is limiting.  

Amazon had the following book review from School Library Journal that gives a good description of the book as well. 

"The Tubmans and the Hatchers return in this latest chronicle of the hilarious escapades of Fudge, Pete, and Tootsie Hatcher and Sheila "Queen of Cooties" Tubman. Their parents decide to spend their summer vacation in the woods of Maine right next door to each other--but "next door" turns out to be in the same house. Fast-paced mayhem becomes the order of the day as children, adults (including Grandma Hatcher and Grandpa Tubman), and assorted pets find themselves in daily (hourly?) predicaments. Not to be outdone in the madcap pace, Grandma and Grandpa announce their intention to be married. The story concludes with the solemn pact between Pete and Sheila that even though they'll be related, they will always hate each other. The story is filled with humor, and the upbeat mood is sustained at a hectic pace from first page to last. The uncomplicated plot is developed smoothly with just the right doses of surprise and laughter to keep readers turning the pages. Characters are credible, and never lose their identities."

When's the last time you read any of the Fudge Series books including Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, SuperFudge, Fudge-a-Mania, Double Fudge


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