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Anyone else remember reading Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing when they were young? It recently popped up in my head and even if you consider that it was written in 1972, and the titular 'Fudge' was two and a half years old, man, that kid was just an rear end in a top hat and an unthinking one. Okay, kids do nonsense and they can grow out of it. So maybe we can forgive stuff like screwing up his dad's business dinner, or jumping off some playground equipment and his brother getting blamed for it despite the fact he lost track of him for like ten seconds, or being a brat and deciding he didn't want to eat any more. Then we get stuff like him vandalizing his brother's visual aids for a school project...just because. But none of that tops when, at the end of the book, Peter, who got a baby, small turtle at the start of the book (which he names Dribble), having won it at a birthday competition, Fudge, for essentially no reason at all (or a dumb kid reason that basically translates to 'No Reason at all'), decides to eat Dribble. Yes, he just swallows the turtle (again, very small). And of course, all the attention and care goes to the brat who did this, first to get the turtle out, and then to celebrate him being 'all better', never mind he killed his older brother's pet. And most annoying of all, since Fudge was essentially the main character, the other books about the same family all got named after him. It's like even reality awards the brat. He kept being a brat in later books too; in the sequel he kicks his new teacher hard in the shin and then climbs on top of a tall drawer solely because she won't call him Fudge (his actual name is Farley, he hates it) and then at the end of it he and a friend of his goes off on an adventure without telling either of their parents, in something that probably doesn't seem so bad to the young readers who were supposed to read this book but would probably utterly terrify most parents. Though even Fudge gets outstripped by that bitch Sheila in the TV movie based on the third book. Fudge is a young child: Sheila's a pre-teen and knows what she's doing.
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Feb 22, 2024 03:46
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 14:04 |
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actually he was Super ,
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Feb 22, 2024 03:48
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I hated his little fat gently caress friend who was always scamming for a dinner invite
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Feb 22, 2024 04:24
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if a kid ate a turtle nowadays all the snowdlake moms would be like oh no he will die of turtle cancer or whatever
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Feb 22, 2024 04:26
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Agreed, OP. I hated that little poo poo head. Poor Peter always getting screwed over thanks to Fudge's antics.
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Feb 22, 2024 04:39
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Should have thrown him into an aquarium full of adult snapping turtles as revenge
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Feb 22, 2024 04:42
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If your parents named you Farley Drexel, you'd be pretty pissed too. Its like on this one facebook group I'm on, there was this (teenage) kid named Tanner who was always getting in to arguments with the older group members. Mostly Gen Xers but some boomers too. I know people hate boomers and to a lesser extent Gen X, but this dude was an idiot and deserved *most* (but probably not all) of the poo poo he got. At one point a couple people I know IRL (older gen X) were all like "Yo, I'd be angry too if my parents named me Tanner". Dude had a meltdown and started threatening some people (a few of whom may have some biker affiliations) and calling everyone out and got banned. Yeah, fudge was a dick though. His dad should have beaten his rear end a few times. But rubbing mashed potatoes in his face or hair or whatever was pretty sweet.
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Feb 22, 2024 05:28
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I dunno, I really identified with him in the book where his parents moved and he started jerking it to the rich girl next door.
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Feb 22, 2024 05:34
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He was evil by nature.
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Feb 22, 2024 05:51
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i remember this. There was a series that followed a girl as well, Ramona I think. Her dad did factory work but was always unemployed and made it his whole family's thing to deal with. Also had a bunch of sayings his grandma always said about various reasons to beat children. Those books were written and take place in like, the 60s or 70s. There wasn't poo poo to do and whatever poo poo you did get up to sucked and you were basically bored all the time. Of course they were lovely. The Bible fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Feb 22, 2024 |
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Feb 22, 2024 06:20
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wesleywillis posted:Yeah, fudge was a dick though. His dad should have beaten his rear end a few times. But rubbing mashed potatoes in his face or hair or whatever was pretty sweet.
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Feb 22, 2024 08:24
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I read those books and the only thing I can remember was later he got a dog and named the dog Turtle in memory of his turtle. I can't get behind a grown rear end goon being pissed off at a toddler though. Toddlers gonna toddle, bitch out his parents if you're so mad.
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Feb 22, 2024 09:50
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Didn't they have ritalin back then?
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Feb 22, 2024 10:04
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BeastOfTheEdelwood posted:Agreed, OP. I hated that little poo poo head. Poor Peter always getting screwed over thanks to Fudge's antics. I was convinced I could save Peter. Always had a thing for lovable losers.
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Feb 22, 2024 10:09
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Fudge Meets Stuart Little (and eats him)
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Feb 22, 2024 14:10
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ChickenHeart posted:Should have thrown him into an aquarium full of adult snapping turtles as revenge 'Whatever Happened to Baby Fudge,' where a grown Peter has to come back to figure out how to care for a disabled Fudge shortly after his parents die, only to find that Fudge's assholishness continues even as a disabled adult. "Remember when you pushed me in the aquarium, Peter?? They took my fingers and feet and I can't move my legs. Remember when you pushed me in the aquarium Peter to die? But I didn't die, Peter. I'LL NEVER DIE, EVER."
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Feb 22, 2024 15:52
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Eating your brother’s beloved pet is certainly a power move.
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Feb 22, 2024 16:22
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I remember in one of the books he got his face blasted open by running full speed headfirst into a jungle gym So I hope that’s some consolation for you OP
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Feb 22, 2024 16:25
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Fudge is Super, Peter is Nothing.
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Feb 22, 2024 16:33
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There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom was a cool book but the title was clickbait long before clickbait was a thing. The author named the entire book on a single throwaway line and I'm pretty sure the incident didn't even happen to the main character. Can't respect it. Just can't.
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Feb 22, 2024 16:39
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My Teacher Is an Alien was always the superior choice in that specific niche of grade school book bus fiction:
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Feb 22, 2024 17:11
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I also vaguely remember some book about a girl with a hat that said PIG CITY on it which not gonna lie, would be a pretty cool hat
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Feb 22, 2024 17:14
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ChickenHeart posted:My Teacher Is an Alien was always the superior choice in that specific niche of grade school book bus fiction: I was probably reading something more like: 
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Feb 22, 2024 17:16
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I also remember a kids book I checked out at the school library in the 4th grade and the main characters were two kids who tried to swim across a stream or something and one of them straight up drowned
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Feb 22, 2024 17:30
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The Bible posted:i remember this. There was a series that followed a girl as well, Ramona I think. Her dad did factory work but was always unemployed and made it his whole family's thing to deal with. Also had a bunch of sayings his grandma always said about various reasons to beat children. When I was a kid I thought her name was Romana like on Doctor Who. When I learned it's actually pronounced Ra-moan-a, I thought it sounded stupid. (Sorry to anyone named Ramona.) William Henry Hairytaint posted:I also remember a kids book I checked out at the school library in the 4th grade and the main characters were two kids who tried to swim across a stream or something and one of them straight up drowned On My Honor?
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Feb 22, 2024 17:41
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William Henry Hairytaint posted:I also remember a kids book I checked out at the school library in the 4th grade and the main characters were two kids who tried to swim across a stream or something and one of them straight up drowned Probably Bridge to Terabithia, it's a pretty famous kids novel My favorite YA author was Robert Cormier, his books are dark as gently caress. After the First Death had an actual terrorist as one protagonist and a suicide victim as another lol. Most of his books had really depressing endings, they are great books but I'm kinda shocked they were as common in school as they were.
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Feb 22, 2024 17:50
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Grey Cat posted:I was probably reading something more like: Mrs gorf seemed like she'd be pretty cool gotta admit.
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Feb 22, 2024 17:52
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William Henry Hairytaint posted:There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom was a cool book but the title was clickbait long before clickbait was a thing. The author named the entire book on a single throwaway line and I'm pretty sure the incident didn't even happen to the main character. It is clickbait in the sense that it's an ultimately minor scene but it definitely happens in the book. The kid gets wrong directions to the guidance counselor's office, isn't paying attention, ends up in the wrong room, and hides in a stall until he thinks it's safe. The point is that it makes his already-bad reputation worse. I would assume Louis Sachar or the publishers thought it was more eye-catching than "The Incredibly Depressing Story About A Problem Kid Who Makes His Life Worse"  Loved that book as a kid. The ending always made me cry.
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Feb 22, 2024 18:03
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Yep, that's the one. I remember the drowned kid being named Tony.
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Feb 22, 2024 18:16
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ChickenHeart posted:My Teacher Is an Alien was always the superior choice in that specific niche of grade school book bus fiction: this book unironically owns, go read the trilogy, it will take you half an afternoon and is available in pretty much every library ever the ending absolutely blew my mind as an impressionable third grader
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Feb 22, 2024 18:24
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dumb, mean kids need representation in childrens books too op. protagonism isn't just for nice people.
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Feb 22, 2024 18:30
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i vaguely remember a live action tv show in the 90s based on the fudge books
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Feb 22, 2024 18:35
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There was one where they all went on vacation or something and they were playing softball (?) and there was some lady everyone called "when-in-rome" and like huh, is that the joke? That's funny? But maybe it was funny. Probably shouldn't have faked being sick so much so I didn't miss important context from Fudge. Then again I was more of a Problem Child 1-3 watching kinda kid. Now there's a smart Alec you can hang your hat on.
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Feb 22, 2024 18:53
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Wilkins Micawber posted:There was one where they all went on vacation or something and they were playing softball (?) and there was some lady everyone called "when-in-rome" and like huh, is that the joke? That's funny? But maybe it was funny. Probably shouldn't have faked being sick so much so I didn't miss important context from Fudge. oh yeah, the one where peter got to meet Big Apfel or whoever
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Feb 22, 2024 18:55
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ChickenHeart posted:My Teacher Is an Alien was always the superior choice in that specific niche of grade school book bus fiction: Bruce Coville was my first "favorite author." I ate all his poo poo up. But the best is obv  I remember one of the Fudge books had a line where someone told him "When in Rome," and it pissed him off, then later he repeats it back to that person in a really snarky way, and it was probably my first experience with a kind of setup-and-payoff, even if in retrospect it's not that deep. It blew me away though. That line that was said earlier in the book, the reversal. I didn't really understand the nuance of the phrase, though. I kind of interpreted that as just another way of saying "gently caress you." So I started saying it to people at school I didn't like. "When in Rome!" I was a dumb kid. credburn fucked around with this message at 19:02 on Feb 22, 2024 |
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Feb 22, 2024 18:57
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What about Soup I remember vaguely, all the books were named after him but he was just the friend of the main character, and possibly seemed dirt poor?
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Feb 22, 2024 18:58
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Rockman Reserve posted:this book unironically owns, go read the trilogy, it will take you half an afternoon and is available in pretty much every library ever Pretty sure I still have the OG books in my childhood closet somewhere. The quadrilogy is indeed the tits. Definitely remember the kids hiding outside the window with the teacher peeling his face off inside on the cover of the first book. I went into my sister’s shed looking for something and found my copy of Beverly Cleary’s Beezuz and Ramona along with some Gamepro magazines from 1991 to 1993. They weren’t what I was looking for, but I’ll take them.
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Feb 22, 2024 19:01
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BEEZUS JESUS
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Feb 22, 2024 19:19
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credburn posted:Bruce Coville was my first "favorite author." I ate all his poo poo up. I read the two sequel books (Howliday Inn and Return to Howliday Inn) countless times on family road trips. gently caress yeah.
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Feb 22, 2024 19:24
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 14:04 |
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Hazo posted:I read the two sequel books (Howliday Inn and Return to Howliday Inn) countless times on family road trips. gently caress yeah. there was also The Celery Stalks at Midnight and iirc a few others
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Feb 22, 2024 19:28
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