Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
If you want more of Fudge and the other characters from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, you'll be happy to learn that there are a bunch of Judy Blume books about Fudge, Peter, and even Sheila. (Source)
The tale of Fudge swallowing a pet turtle was unfortunately based in reality. Judy Blume says that she read an article in the 1960s about a toddler swallowing a pet turtle. That was the inspiration for Fudge's big gulp. (Source)
The original Fudge was inspired by Judy Blume's son, but her latest Fudge books are based on her grandson, Elliot. Apparently there's a Fudge in every generation of the Blume family. (Source)
When the author was a little girl she had a best friend who lived in an apartment building in NYC that had an elevator. She always thought that was cool and she used it as the model for Peter's apartment building in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. (Source)