History Literature / Fudge

* NamedByTheAdaptation: Mr. and Mrs. Yarby are given the first names Howard and Eleanor in the TV series.

* ShoutOut: ''Double Fudge'' has several:
** Sheila mentions having read [[Literature/{{Speak}} a book about a girl who doesn't speak after she has a traumatic event occur to her.]] Could count as ParentalBonus, considering that book's subject matter.
** For reasons never really explained, Fudge thinks it's bad luck to say [[Franchise/HarryPotter you know who's]] real name out loud. He seems to be confusing the protagonist with the villain.
** Fudge's new friend is a wealthy boy named Rich Potter, often referred to as "Richie." Peter usually refers to him as "[[ComicBook/RichieRich Richie Richest]]."
** When cousins Flora and Fauna are deciding on a nickname for their little brother Farley (as Fudge is already taken), Peter suggests calling him "Mini Farley." The twin cousins initially mistake it for "[[WesternAnimation/MinnieMouse Minnie]]."
** When the Hawaiian cousins come over to the Hatchers' apartment and sleep in the living room, Peter is annoyed with it and comes up with the hypothetical possibility if ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' were on that night and he wanted to watch it.
** Near the end, Fudge tells his cousins Flora and Fauna that their impending baby sibling could be a panda baby, he says "You never know. [[Literature/StuartLittle Mrs. Little had a mouse. She named him Stuart.]]"

** ''Double Fudge'', the Cousin Howie and his family overstay their welcome at the Hatchers' small apartment, even though Warren and Anne can't bring themselves to kick them out. The Howies (as Peter calls them) eventually sublet another apartment in the building for several weeks, so they still remain in the neighborhood even after they leave.

* TheThingThatWouldNotLeave: In ''Superfudge'', the Hatcher family is constantly annoyed by Fudge's friend Daniel. At one point, Daniel looks ready to invite himself to stay for dinner with them, but Mrs. Hatcher tricks him into leaving by pretending that they're having peas and onions with their dinner (two foods that he hates). Peter's cousins become this in ''Double Fudge''.

* OneSteveLimit: It's subtle, but in ''Fudge-a-Mania'', there's Jake, Sheila's (female) dog, as well as Jacob, Mitzi's [[TheGhost unseen]] little brother.

* JerkassHasAPoint: When Peter is butting heads with Sheila, he quite accurately points out a lot of her faults: she's an arrogant KnowNothingKnowItAll who hides that she is a coward. Sheila later admits this in her spotlight book, especially when her best friend says the same thing.

** In ''Fudge-a-Mania'', baby Tootsie accidentally walks through spilled paint and makes little footprints across one of Jimmy's father's canvases. He decides to make a series of "Baby Feet" paintings with her as a result. It gets a callback in ''Double Fudge'', where Peter's family gets invited to a showing of Mr. Fargo's work, including the now wildly popular Baby Feet paintings. Peter even muses that Tootsie should at least get a commission since technically she's the one making the paintings.

* AscendedExtra: Henry Bevelheimer, who originally worked as the elevator operator for the apartment building where the Hatchers live, plays a much larger role in ''Double Fudge''[[note]]He [[AbsenteeActor didn't even appear]] in ''Fudge-a-Mania''.[[/note]] He fixes up the apartment Jimmy Fargo and his father used to live in once they move out, he helps out a bit with [[LostVoicePlot Uncle Feather's brief period of not talking at all]] by concluding that the myna bird is "on strike", and later he converts the elevator to self-service, installs a security camera inside the elevator and becomes superintendent of the apartment building, in which he also calls a special meeting for all the kids in the apartment on how to use the elevator on their own.

* AdultFear:
** It's not discussed at length, but this is likely a large part of the reason that Peter's parents freak out when [[spoiler:Fudge swallows his turtle and are lenient on him afterwards]]. At first they have no idea what the effects of that might be, and then they're facing the possibility of their toddler having to undergo surgery. Even Peter briefly gets worried. And Peter also points out that [[spoiler:Fudge killed his pet and isn't even sorry about it]].
** Earlier in ''Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing'', Fudge briefly disappears while at the movie theater with Peter and their father. He's found quickly, but it's still something that would terrify most parents.
** In ''Superfudge'', four-year-old Fudge and his friend Daniel decide to run off on their own while telling their respective parents that they're at each other's houses. When the parents realize that the boys lied to them and haven't been seen for several hours, they (and Peter) are understandably panicked.
** Mini lets Uncle Feather loose ForTheLulz, and he starts careening around the apartment. Then he smashes into a window wing-first. Fudge is at first worried his pet is dead, but a vet confirms that Uncle Feather just broke his wing and needs a cast. Peter notes that Fudge behaved well considering the circumstances.

** For Flora and Fauna, they're the unfavorites to their little brother Mini who is an almost nonverbal SpoiledBrat that gets away with anything as long as he doesn't eat candy or processed foods while their parents restrict them far more and practically police every little thing they do.

Not to be confused with the TabletopRPG by the same name, which is a precursor of ''TabletopGame/{{Fate}}''.
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* TheUnfavorite: Peter often feels like this, being expected to be the responsible older brother while his little brother gets away with everything.

** Mini is a rehash of what Fudge was like when he was three years old and a now older Fudge is now in the position that he once put Peter in just three years prior.

!!This series provides examples of:

* JerkAss:

** Subverted. When Fudge [[spoiler:eats Peter's turtle]], everyone's concerned about him, but ''not one person'' comforts Peter over the fact that [[spoiler:his pet has been eaten -- his grandma even shouts at him when he understandably asks whether or not his turtle is alive]]. It isn't until after Fudge recovers that Peter's parents thank him for being a good sport about the whole thing and buy him a dog, since he had asked for one before and always wanted a puppy. This trope doesn't occur in the show's version of the incident, where, instead of yelling at Peter, his grandmother sits down with him and explains that [[spoiler:Dribble is dead]].
** Zigzagged in ''Double Fudge'' when [[spoiler:Mini eats Fudge's baby tooth, which he had next to him at the dinner table, the last night the Howard-Hatchers are visiting. Fudge is understandably upset on realizing Mini swallowed it and wants it back. The Howard-Hatchers do their best to get it out of Mini but when they can't, they leave in a hurry. Peter can't help but put it that now Fudge knows what it was like when his little brother swallowed his turtle, and Fudge is shocked to learn that Peter hated him for killing his pet. Anne and Warren are more patient and help Fudge draft a letter of explanation to the Tooth Fairy so that he won't miss out on baby tooth money. Peter does admit he feels bad for Fudge a little, but not that much]].

* WouldHitAGirl: Fudge. He kicked Sheila when she told him he'd eventually get used to his baby sister, and kicked his teacher when she [[BerserkButton calls him by]] [[DoNotCallMePaul his real name.]] Diminished a bit since he's also a lot younger and therefore smaller than either of them, which eliminates one major reason[[labelnote:*]]the fact that males on average are stronger than females[[/labelnote]] why this is generally considered a particularly bad thing.

** Peter expresses worry about Fudge being in a "mixed-up" group for his first-grade class, actually a mixed group of kids. He reminds Anne that the teacher may be another "Ratface" who gives Fudge trouble for arbitrary reasons and the kid needs a good teacher. Anne reassures him that she and Warner thought about that and met with his teachers, a guy and a girl. Unfortunately, owing to the school's higher standards, Fudge's obsession with money causes them to ask Anne at a guidance counselor meeting if the family is financially struggling.

* ChildProdigy: Both played with and averted in the span of two books. In ''Superfudge'', Fudge is deemed smart enough to start kindergarten early when the family's in Princeton for the year because he knows so many of his letters and can spell "Maine" which is treated like a big deal when he's four years old. Unfortunately in ''Double Fudge'', he's not deemed ready to be in a first grade classroom and has to be in a "mixed group" full of other students in that position and is actually one of the lowest performing students in the high standard group.

* ChildProdigy: Both played with and averted in the span of two books. In ''Superfudge'', Fudge is deemed smart enough to start kindergarten early when the family's in Princeton for the year because he knows so many of his letters and can spell "Maine" which is treated like a big deal when he's four years old. Unfortunately in ''Double Fudge'', he's not deemed ready to be in a first grade classroom and has to be in a "mixed group" full of other students in that position and is actually one of the lowest performing students in that group.

* MisplacedKindergartenTeacher: A rare inversion. Fudge's first kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Hildebrandt, is a strict and inflexible teacher who refuses to call Fudge by his preferred nickname, even commenting "there's something wrong with that child" (to which Peter defends his little brother). The personality clash is solved by transferring Fudge to a different class with a more understanding teacher.

** Fudge initiated conflict with his kindergarten teacher Mrs Hildebrandt, but Peter tells her she's being unreasonable, compared to Ms. Ziff who becomes a CoolTeacher and says Fudge must be as sweet as his name. Fudge calls Mrs Hildebrandt "Ratface" for insisting on addressing him as Farley. Despite Peter telling Fudge that it's rude to call a teacher that, he admits Mrs Hildebrandt ''does'' look like a Ratface and refers to her as such in later books.

** Peter appears this way at least as often as not. Some of this is down to him being the point of view character, but by ''Double Fudge'', his mother is occasionally asking him for advice or help dealing with Fudge, as well as assurance that her parenting isn't as bad as Fudge's teachers imply.