• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

  • By: Judy Blume
  • Narrated by: Judy Blume
  • Length: 2 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,470 ratings)

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Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing  By  cover art

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

By: Judy Blume
Narrated by: Judy Blume
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Publisher's summary

Living with his little brother, Fudge, makes Peter Hatcher feel like a fourth grade nothing. Whether Fudge is throwing a temper tantrum in a shoe store, smearing mashed potatoes on the walls at Hamburger Heaven, or scribbling all over Peter's homework, he's never far from trouble. He's a two-year-old terror who gets away with everything, and Peter's had enough.

When Fudge walks off with Dribble, Peter's pet turtle, it's the last straw. Peter has put up with Fudge for too long. How can he get his parents to pay attention to him for a change?

Explore our full list of Judy Blume titles.
©1972 Judy Blume (P)2002 Random House Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

"It should be true that the author is the best narrator of his/her own work, and Blume more than fulfills this expectation. In a children's title, it's especially grand if the reader can capture all of the bratty, sweet, and simple nuances of the little characters. Blume is great as the parents, pretentious boss, and older brother, and she outdoes herself with two-year-old Fudge. She throws the perfect temper tantrum and cajoles adults with the best of them. All listeners, regardless of age, can identify with the exasperation of the older child who's often called upon to parent." (AudioFile)

Featured Article: On the Enduring Legacy of Judy Blume


Judy Blume's middle grade and young adult novels have helped raise generations of kids, reshaping the literary landscape for young listeners. Since the 1970s, Blume's writing has contributed to destigmatizing taboo topics like puberty, teen sexuality, masturbation, menstruation, bullying, disability, and more. And now, rather than her books being deemed outdated or no longer relevant to today's kids, we're experiencing a "Blume-aissance."

What listeners say about Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    1,093
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  • 3 Stars
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Story
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Definitely not a waste of credits.

I've been a fan of this book since a teacher read it to me and the rest of my class when I was in, fittingly enough, the fourth grade. It tells the story of Peter Hatcher and the trials and tribulations he goes through having a little brother like Farley Drexel AKA Fudge. Such misadventures include Fudge causing Peter's advertiser father to lose a potential client, to jumping off a set of monkey bars and losing a few of his own teeth, culminating in an act so bizarre even now I find it hard to imagine. Audible had this book, read by the lady of the hour herself. I've always been rather skeptical of authors reading their own novels since some just don't have the voice for it (Stephen King comes to mind for me rather quickly as does Douglas Adams), but Judy, though she took a little bit of getting used to, grew on me. The author knows what is or her characters should sound like and Judy does them justice, from Peter to his parents, even Fudge's temper tantrums. An excellent book brought excellently to life, and by its author no less. I always like it when an author is able to read their own work and actually give it personality.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Terrible narration

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Judy Blume?

The author's read is terrible, constantly jumping between speaking so low she can't be understood, to reading so loud that the audio distorts. She also does not have a lot of range in the tone of her reading.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

the best book ever

i love this book everyone should read it

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Tales of a fourth grade nothing

Having it read bye the author gives us a insight in how the author imagined the characters voices and expressions.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Childhood Treasure

There are so many nuances that came out as a result of having it read by the author. Hearing how she envisioned Fudge saying Peter's name was really sweet. The book is a treasure to hear. My children and I loved it.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Dated, bad narration

Picked this up to listen to with the kids on a road trip. When was this written? 40's 50's? In a time when men did fuck all around the house and women raised children and did all the housework. Also, not sure a baby would actually be able to eat a turtle. Dumb.

Narration didn't help. Pretty bad was numerous reasons I don't have the time and the energy to list. Ahhh, just noticed it's performed by Judy Blume whose also the author. That's almost never a good idea..

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Problematic Parenting

Great reading performance by narrator. I know this story is a ‘classic’ but Peter and Fudge’s relationship is not good throughout the entire book. The parents do nothing to reconcile the issues and hateful dialogue (other than buy Peter a puppy when his little brother eats his turtle). That type of behavior doesn’t fly in our house, but I suppose it gave my kids talking points on how not to treat each other.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story, horrible Audio Book

Would you try another book from Judy Blume and/or Judy Blume?

I've been a fan of Mrs. Blume since I was a child, and always will be -- but this audio book did not do the story justice. I wanted to introduce my 10 year old, who is entering the 4th grade this book - and thought I would try something special with an audio version. Not the best choice, and I did return it. This book, and the series of books that came out of it - are amazing. Just chose a different medium than the audio book.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

AWESOME 👏!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everything about it is AMAZING!!! ❤️ ❤️❤️❤️❤️ LOVE IT 😍 Part where Fudge ate Dribble was hilarious 😂! Super narration too! 😝

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great family audiobook

I listened to this audio book with my nine-year-old son and we loved it! We can't wait to go onto the next Judy Blume book.

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2 people found this helpful