

At the same time, he misses his friends in New York, and continues to have difficulties dealing with Fudge and his impulsive, sometimes selfish behavior.


When school starts in the fall, Peter finds that he likes his new teacher, and that there is a girl in his class (Joanne) that he finds interesting. Dad, meanwhile, is struggling to do what he came to New Jersey for – research and write a book.

When Peter and his family arrive in their new home, at the beginning of the summer, Peter makes a new friend fairly quickly (Alex), and starts finding ways to become more comfortable in his new life – this, despite the fact that Fudge is becoming more annoying than ever, playing with Tootsie in ways that anger and frustrate Mom. Again, however, he ends up going along with their plans. Again, Peter reacts angrily, again upset that his parents did not consult him and again threatening to run away. Shortly after the baby (nicknamed Tootsie) arrives, Peter gets news of another change in his life his family is moving from New York City to Princeton, New Jersey. Peter threatens to run away, but the appealing smells of dinner lure him into staying. Peter reacts angrily, upset that his parents did not check with him before deciding to have another baby and worrying that his new brother or sister is going to be as difficult to live with as his four-year-old brother, Fudge. The story is told in the first-person, past-tense voice of 12-year old Peter, struggling to adjust with significant changes in his family and in his life.Īs the story begins, Peter gets what he sees as some unpleasant news his Mom tells him she is going to have a baby. Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Blume, Judy.
