Summary
Peter Hatcher is a nine-year-old 4th grader living with his family in New York City. He starts off the book by telling readers about his turtle, Dribble. He won Dribble at Jimmy Fargo's birthday party, after guessing the correct number of jelly beans in a jar. All the other boys got to take home a goldfish, which upset him at first, but when Jimmy handed him the turtle he knew he had gotten the best prize.
Peter says his apartment, on the Upper West Side of New York City, has one of the best elevators in the whole city, with mirrors all around so you can see yourself from every angle. The elevator operator's name is Henry Bevelheimer, but everyone just calls him Henry. He shows Henry his turtle, newly named Dribble, as he goes home from Jimmy's party that night.
Peter's mother is very surprised to see him come home with a turtle, and she comments that she doesn't like the way he smells. Peter thinks he just smells like a turtle. He promises he will take care of him so his mother will not have to; she is not thrilled, but she lets him keep it. He is extremely excited to have his own pet at last.
Peter informs readers that while they may think his mother is his biggest problem, this is not the case. His father, who works in the advertising business and wrote the commercial for the juice Juicy-O, is not his biggest problem either. Instead, his biggest problem is his two-and-a-half year old brother, Farley Drexel Hatcher. Everyone calls him Fudge, which Peter thinks is an unfortunate name. Fudge gets in the way of everything, and messes everything up for Peter. Peter warns him not to touch his turtle.
One night, Peter's father comes home from work very excited, and tells the family that the president of the Juicy-O company and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Yarby, are coming to New York. He invited Mr. and Mrs. Yarby to stay with them. Peter's mother is frustrated that he invited them to stay and did not suggest they get a hotel. She fixes up a sofa bed in Fudge's room for the guests, and moves Fudge's crib into Peter's room. Peter isn't happy about this, but his mother will not let him argue.
Peter's mother spends the whole day in the kitchen cooking for the guests, and sets up the dining room nicely. Peter goes to Jimmy Fargo's for the afternoon, and comes home to his mother fretting that she has lost two flowers from the dining room table. It turns out that Fudge ate them. Their mother panics and calls the doctor, who does not seem concerned, but recommends they give him medicine for stomach pains. She warns Fudge to be a good boy when the company comes that night.
When the Yarbys arrive, no one would ever guess that chaos had ensued in the house that day. Everyone is dressed up nicely. Mrs. Yarby fusses over Fudge, exclaiming how cute he is and how she loves babies. Peter introduces himself. Mrs. Yarby gives a gift to Fudge; it is a windup train toy. She has a gift for Peter, too, but it is a picture dictionary, the kind he liked when he was four years old. She says she does not know much about big boys. Peter is a little upset, but he is polite.
At Mr. Yarby's request, Peter's mother brings out Juicy-O for everyone to drink. Fudge comes out of his room with the exact same picture dictionary that Mrs. Yarby gave Peter; he was hoping she would not find out they already had the same one. Peter's mother takes Fudge into Peter's room and puts him to sleep, hoping he will not cause any more trouble.
However, Fudge comes back in the middle of dinner carrying the turtle bowl with Dribble inside it. Mrs. Yarby hates reptiles, and Mr. Yarby tells Peter's father to get that thing out of there, calling him "Hatcher!" Peter quickly takes the turtle away from Fudge and back into his room. The Yarbys say that if they had their own children, they would teach them manners. During dessert, Fudge comes in again wearing one of Peter's Halloween masks and frightens Mrs. Yarby.
Peter goes to sleep and wakes up early in the morning because Fudge has placed Dribble on his arm to crawl around. Then Fudge plays with his toy train and wakes the whole house up. The Yarbys tell the Hatchers over breakfast that they are going to leave for a hotel, but as they go to get their suitcase, they realize that Fudge has "decorated" it with stamps.
The following week, Peter's father comes home and throws out all the Juicy-O in their house, because his advertising firm has lost the Juicy-O account. He says it is not a big deal, since Juicy-O is not selling well in stores, and both he and Peter reveal that they did not really like Juicy-O anyway.
Analysis
The first chapter of this book introduces readers to the cast of characters that will feature into the rest of the story. At the center of the story is Peter, a character who readers will immediately relate to. Just like in most books targeted at a young audience, Peter is about the age that most readers will be when they pick up this book (somewhere between seven and ten years old). This means that they can easily understand his thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Surrounding Peter is a fairly normal family that readers will also recognize; a father who works hard, cracks jokes, and occasionally misses the obvious (e.g., that inviting the Yarbys to stay in their apartment might not be the best idea). A mother who wants everything to be just right, cares for her children, but gets frustrated when things do not go as planned. And, finally, a little brother who is cute, but causes heaps of trouble.
This book is set in New York City, which provides a fast-paced, exciting environment for all of Peter's adventures. There is always something happening in the big city, just as there is always something happening inside the Hatcher household. Important people like the Yarbys come in and out of the picture, providing all the more opportunities for Fudge to cause mayhem. Much of the book also takes place in their family apartment; the apartment's small size means that the Hatchers are often a little too close for comfort. The city setting is hugely relevant to the events that occur in this book.
By the end of Chapter 2, readers have a clear idea of Peter's voice. Because the book is written in the first-person perspective, it sounds as if Peter is casually telling a story to readers. His language is simple and easy for young audiences to understand, though he occasionally uses more difficult vocabulary that shows he is clever and bridging that complicated stage between child and young adult. One of his characteristic phrases is "A person could..." such as, "If a person didn't know any better, a person could get scared" (pg. 15). These quirky, commonly repeated phrases set Peter's voice apart from other narrators.
This book centers around Peter's complicated relationship with Fudge. He is the older sibling, so he is meant to set a good example and behave politely even when his younger brother drives him crazy. As the older sibling, he often feels as if Fudge is favored not only by his own parents, but also by guests; for example, Mrs. Yarby fawning over Fudge but paying little attention to Peter. He has to constantly tolerate Fudge making his life difficult and his parents often shrugging it off because there is little they can do to control his behavior. Despite all this, though, he knows he is supposed to love his little brother—and he does, despite all of his antics. This relationship will continue to be central to the rest of the book.
One last important character that is introduced in the first chapter is Dribble, the turtle. Though Dribble does not speak for himself, his presence in Peter's life is important. Owning a pet is Peter's chance to show some responsibility and step into the shoes of a young adult. He is determined to prove to his parents that he can handle this on his own, without relying on their help. Finally, Dribble belongs only to Peter; he does not have to share this pet with Fudge, like he has to do with so many other parts of his life. This is part of the reason why Peter is so upset when Fudge ignores instructions and touches or mishandles Dribble.
