Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

I'm a little embarrased to admit that I'd never read a Judy Blume book. I know Superfudge and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret were big hits when I was growing up. But I never picked them up, despite the fact I read a lot at that age.

And now, I have a son in 4th grade. And he was reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. So I decided to read it too. And here's my takeaway: 

Fudge is a terrible human being. Case in point: Fudge eats Peter's turtle, which makes him a monster. Full stop.

This book is supposed to be about Peter, but his 2 1/2  year-old brother Fudge consumes his life with awful, out of control behavior. And poor Peter has to constantly adjust and cater to it. It is so on brand that even a book about Peter ends up being about his annoying litter brother. 

Peter is well-behaved, hard-working, and responsible. His parents constantly ask him to do things to appease Fudge, or to stand aside while Fudge takes the limelight, or to redo his school project because Fudge destroyed it. 

I guess I had feelings while reading this book. I don't know if it's supposed to be funny, but I couldn't stop feeling bad for poor Peter while wanting to strangle Fudge. So I asked my fourth grader what he thought of the book and he agreed, "that kid's so annoying!"

So it's not just me or my adult perspective. Fudge is more horror villain than comedic device. But it made me feel something. And I guess that's the sign of a successful book, for better or worse. 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

This is the second installment of the illustrated Harry Potter books. I love reading these books with my 7-year old son. They have just enough illustrations to keep him interested from page to page, especially since this is an unabridged version of the books. There are even a few extras, like this page:

Not only is it relevant to the story, but it offers a little bit of extra information for those who can't get enough of the wizarding world.

In this story, we meet new characters like Gilderoy Lockhart, the charming, narcisistic new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. We also get to know new places, like the whimsical Burrow, where the Weasleys call home. And there are new spells and potions to learn, central of which is the polyjuice potion, which can temporarily turn you into someone else. Of course, we also get more history into Hogwarts and the Dark Lord himself, which is so important for the books to follow.

I could read the Harry Potter books over and over, and I will definitely reach for these illustrated books for my re-reads. They are every bit as beautiful as the stories they depict, and a great addition to your library.

Magic Treehouse #1, #9, #10, and #17

These are short, easy to read fantasy novels for children about a brother and sister who can travel anywhere a book is set via their magic treehouse. There is a little bit of subplot connecting one book to another (specifically the first 28 - yes you read that correctly - involve the Morgan LeFay missions where the mystical Morgan tasks the siblings with various errands). But my 7-year old son and I skipped books and found them readable without much confusion. Here's a summary of the books we've read:

Book 1: Dinosaurs Before Dark
Jack and Annie find said tree house of magic filled with books. Jack picks up a book about dinosaurs and inadvertently utters the magic wishing words. They are promptly whisked away to dinosaur times and have a brief adventure. On a side note, Annie is a little annoying - even taking her age into consideration.

Book 9: Dolphins at Daybreak
Something about dolphins, the ocean, and being in one of those really small claustrophobia inducing underwater vehicles. Overall take home? Annie's borderline pathologically dangerous behavior surprisingly hasn't killed her or Jack.

Book 10: Ghost Town at Sundown
Jack and Annie are taken to the old west, where they meet a man who needs their help. I don't remember whose idea it was to go with him, but based on her track record for making reckless decisions, it was probably Annie's (girl wouldn't last a day on her own outside of fantasy lands). She's lucky the cowboy didn't have nefarious intentions.

Book 17: Tonight on the Titanic
I take my hat off to Mary for taking on the Titanic in a children's book right in the middle of it sinking. And to make matters worse, she throws a puppy in the mix. I was horrified reading this. Jack and Annie really shouldn't have made it out of that one.









I suppose these are good chapter books for young readers. I'd recommend them more for kids to read themselves, rather than being read to, as the simple dialogue and sentence structure (and Annie) can make for an annoying read. I'm not sure the top age group for these books, but it seems older kids beyond about 3rd grade would out grow them.

The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

This was a book that my third grade teacher read to our class every day after we got in from lunch. I remember how we listened to my teacher's every word about Omri, a boy who is gifted a magical medicine cabinet that brings plastic toys to life. We couldn't wait until the next day to realize the resolution of each chapter's cliffhanger.

So it seemed a great choice to read to my 7 year old son. But would a second reading, more than 30 years later, hold up to the test of time?  I had my doubts, which began with the title of the book. Could this foreshadow greater problems to come? Against my better judgment, I decided to find out.

While my son seemed interested in the story, there were some cringey moments that maybe I was sensitive to, but hopefully were lost on him.  There were references to injuns and talk of scalpings and firewater, stereotypical stuff. And the way Little Bear spoke in broken English didn't help either. And besides all of that, Omri's friend Patrick was a terrible person. I quietly seethed through most parts of the book involving him.

So are we going to read the second book in the series? I don't think so. And while I don't think my 3rd grade psyche was damaged in any way by the first reading, I feel the book, like those memories, belongs back in the 80's.