Superfudge Part 8 Study Guide - Garden Heights Academy

What Happens in Part 8

The Hatchers’ year in Princeton comes to its close, and the book gathers up its threads. There is one last scare when Uncle Feather goes missing — the beloved myna bird vanishes, and the family hunts high and low before he is happily found. Then comes a moment everyone has been waiting for: baby Tootsie says her very first word. After all the fuss and love poured over her, the word she chooses is a perfect, comic surprise: “yuck!” With Dad’s book-writing year finished, the family faces a big decision: stay in Princeton or move back to New York City. They put it to a vote, and the answer is New York — home. Peter, who once dreaded leaving the city, has grown so much that he can look back on the whole Princeton year with fondness, even as he looks forward to going home. Fudge is no longer the baby; Peter is a surer, kinder big brother; and the Hatchers, a little bigger and a little wiser, are ready for whatever comes next.

What We Will Learn

Focus	What It Means
Resolution	The story’s worries settled and its threads tied up
Theme Resolved	A dreaded change became a year worth treasuring
Character Growth	Peter transformed into a surer, kinder big brother

Chapter Summary

Pages	Key Events
pp. 146–166	Uncle Feather goes missing and is found; baby Tootsie says her first word — ‘yuck’; and, with Dad’s writing year over, the family votes to move back to New York. Peter, who once dreaded it all, looks back on Princeton with fondness and heads home a wiser, kinder big brother

💭 Before You Read · Warm-Up (not scored)

There are no wrong answers here — just think, guess, and talk:

The family decides where to live by taking a vote. Why is it meaningful that even the children get a say in such a big choice?
Peter began the book dreading everything and ends it looking back fondly. What does his change show about facing things we don’t want to do?
Looking back over the whole book — the new baby, the move, kindergarten, Uncle Feather, the scare — which part changed Peter the most, and why?

Copyright Notice

This is an independent study guide created by Garden Heights Academy to support reading comprehension and literary analysis. It contains original analysis questions and does not reproduce any text from the novel. Superfudge is a work by Judy Blume. This guide is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by the author or any associated rights holder.

Part 1

Vocabulary

Study 10 key words from pages 146–166, then answer each question.

🧠Knowledge Bank · Words of an Ending

Lexicology · Words of an Ending

A single year can change a child a great deal, because childhood is a time of fast growth in both body and mind. Over the months of this story, Peter meets a new sibling, moves to a new town, starts a new school, and lives through a frightening scare — and each experience quietly stretches him. Psychologists describe development as the slow gathering of such moments; no one grows up in a day, but many small challenges, met one by one, add up. This is why Peter at the end is not quite the boy he was at the start; the year has taught him patience, courage, and a wider sense of family. Looking back across a whole story lets a reader measure that growth and see how much a person can change.

Visual AidA year of small challenges adds up

Chart for the Knowledge Bank on how a single year changes a child. The four rising bars are the four experiences the Knowledge Bank lists for Peter’s year, a new sibling, a move, a new school, and a real scare, drawn as stairs from Peter at the start to Peter at the end, and the red card is what the Knowledge Bank says the year taught him. The heights show order, not measured amounts. Notice that no single step is tall — the Knowledge Bank’s point is that growth is the sum of small ones.

Four challenges and their lessons as described in the Knowledge Bank; heights show order only. Drawn for Garden Heights Academy.

voten.p.160

A way of deciding by counting each person’s choice

“The family takes a vote.”

decisionn.p.158

A choice you make after thinking

“A big decision faces the family.”

resolutionn.p.164

The point where a story’s problems are settled

“The resolution ties up the story.”

fondnessn.p.162

A gentle, warm liking for something

“Peter looks back with fondness.”

homecomingn.p.163

A happy return to your home

“The move is a joyful homecoming.”

matureadj.p.161

Grown-up in the way you act

“Peter is more mature now.”

treasurev.p.162

To value something greatly

“Peter treasures the Princeton year.”

reliefn.p.150

A happy feeling when worry ends

“There is relief when the bird is found.”

democraticadj.p.160

Deciding fairly, with everyone’s say

“A vote is a democratic choice.”

growv.p.165

To change and develop over time

“Peter has grown all year.”

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1According to the Knowledge Bank, psychologists describe development as ___.p.160

2A ‘decision’ is —p.158

3Fill in each blank with the correct word.pp. 146–166

Word choices:resolutionhomecomingvoterelief- some words will not be used

The place where the story’s problems are settled is its

The joyful move back to New York is a .

4‘Fondness’ is —p.162

5A ‘homecoming’ is a happy return to your home.p.163

6Someone ‘mature’ —p.161

7Fill in each blank with the correct word.pp. 146–166

Word choices:treasuredemocraticgrowmature- some words will not be used

Deciding by a vote where everyone has a say is

Peter has come to his year in Princeton.

8‘Relief’ is —p.150

9Something ‘democratic’ is decided —p.160

10To ‘grow’ can mean to change and develop over time.p.165

Part 2

Comprehension

How well do you understand pages 146–166?

🧠Knowledge Bank · Seeing the Whole Journey

Narrative Logic · Seeing the Whole Journey

When a book ends, a strong reader zooms out to see the whole journey rather than just the final scene. This means comparing the beginning to the end and asking what shifted — in the characters, the family, and your own understanding. Peter began the story dreading a new baby and a big move; by the close, both have become part of a life he can handle. Naming that arc, from where a character started to where he arrived, reveals the story’s deeper point. Blume trusts you to hold the early chapters in mind so the ending means something. Reading for the whole journey is how you turn a series of events into a story with shape, and it is the skill that makes a last page feel truly earned.

1Near the end, the bird Uncle Feather goes missing before he is found.p.148

🧠Knowledge Bank question

2The Knowledge Bank says a strong reader at the end of a book ___.p.150

3What big milestone does baby Tootsie reach?p.154

4What is Tootsie’s surprising first word?p.154

5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the correct order across Part 8. Number 1 = what happens first.pp. 146–166

Baby Tootsie says her first word: ‘yuck!’
Peter looks back on the year with fondness.
The family faces a big decision about where to live.
They take a vote and choose to move back home.
Uncle Feather goes missing, then is found.

6How does the family make its big decision?p.160

7What do they decide to do?p.160

8How does Peter feel about the Princeton year by the end?p.162

9Peter ends the book exactly the same as he began it, unchanged.p.165

10How has Peter changed since the start of the book?p.161

Part 3

Literary Elements

Understanding HOW and WHY Judy Blume tells the story across pages 146–166.

🧠Knowledge Bank · Resolution & Theme

Literary Technique · Resolution & Theme

The resolution is the part of a story where the main problems settle and loose threads are tied, letting the reader feel the tale is complete. A good resolution does more than stop the action; it shows how the characters have changed and quietly restates the story’s theme. As Superfudge closes, the family’s year of change comes to rest, and the book’s big idea — that a real home is made of people, not places — shines through without ever being announced. Blume lets the ending prove what the whole book has been arguing. When you reach a story’s resolution, ask what the final scene says about the theme, because a skillful ending always sends you back through the book to deepen your understanding.

A black-and-white photograph of a family of five, including a toddler in a high chair, eating dinner around a small kitchen table in a plain, tidy kitchen — Photograph by Russell Lee, taken in August 1946 for a government survey of coal-mining towns, of a mine worker named James Jasper and his family eating dinner around their kitchen table, the smallest child in a high chair. The *Knowledge Bank* says the book’s big idea, proved by its ending, is that a real home is made of people, not places, and this plain kitchen in a company housing project shows exactly that. The house is small and borrowed from the mining company; the home is the five people around the table. They are not the Hatchers, and this is not Princeton or New York. Notice where everyone is looking — at the meal and at each other, not at the room.
James Jasper, a motor brakeman, and his family at dinner in company housing, August 22, 1946; photograph by Russell Lee, U.S. National Archives. Source: Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

📚 Literary Devices in This Part · definitions & examples

A resolution is the part of a story where the problems are settled and the loose threads are tied up. A great resolution also answers the theme — the story’s big idea. Here, Peter’s journey from dreading change to treasuring it resolves the plot and proves the theme through his own character growth.

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1According to the Knowledge Bank, a good resolution quietly restates the story's ___.p.164

2A resolution is where a story’s problems are settled.p.164

3Fill in each blank with the correct word.pp. 146–166

Word choices:resolutionthemesettingrhyme- some words will not be used

The tying-up of the story’s problems is the

The big idea it proves — a dreaded change can be treasured — is the .

4A great resolution does more than end the plot; it —p.164

5A character can grow and change over the course of a story.p.161

6Fill in each blank with the correct word.pp. 146–166

Word choices:character growththemerhymeindex- some words will not be used

Peter changing from dread to fondness is his

That growth is how Blume proves the book’s .

7The theme this ending proves is that —p.162

8The ending echoing the beginning mainly shows —p.162

9Fill in each blank with the correct word.pp. 146–166

Word choices:resolutionthemesettingplot- some words will not be used

The place where the worries are all settled is the

The lesson it leaves us with is the story’s .

10Noticing the resolution mainly helps a reader see —p.164

Part 4

Think Deeper

Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it through.

🧠Knowledge Bank · How Far Peter Has Come

Ethical Reasoning · How Far Peter Has Come

At the start of the book, Peter met the news of a new baby with dread, sure it would ruin everything he loved. By the end, he has weathered a sibling, a move, a new school, and a real scare — and come out steadier and kinder. This is the heart of growing up: not that troubles vanish, but that we grow big enough to carry them. Psychologists call this maturing, the slow trade of a smaller, more fearful self for a larger, more capable one. Peter still has his sharp tongue and his eye-rolls, yet underneath he has stretched. As you close the book, weigh how much of his growth came from the events themselves, and how much came from his own quiet choice to adapt.

1Claim: “A last scare over the missing bird reminds the family how much they care.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence

2Shows why the bird’s disappearance matters, or just a detail of the ending? Tap each item to sort it — tap again to switch sides. You can keep tapping to change your answer.Sort into two

◄ Why it mattersJust a detail ►

3Match each cause to its result. For each cause, pick its result.Cause & Effect

Uncle Feather goes missing→

Everyone is worried→

The bird means so much→

Uncle Feather is found→

🧠Knowledge Bank question

4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument

The Knowledge Bank says the heart of growing up is not that troubles vanish but that , which psychologists call .

Part 5

Standardized Test

Key Details & Inference — SAT & TOEFL-style practice

What Makes a House a Home

What makes a house into a home? A home is not really about the building, the number of rooms, or whether it stands in a busy city or a quiet town. A home is about the people inside it and the way they belong to one another. That is why the same family can feel at home in very different places, and why moving, though hard, does not break a family apart. Some families make big choices together by talking them through and even taking a vote, so that everyone, including the children, has a say. Making a decision together this way helps each person feel valued and part of the whole. Home is also built from ordinary moments: meals together, inside jokes, a baby's first word, the relief of finding a lost pet. These small shared experiences weave people together over time. Families are rarely tidy or perfect; they are noisy, messy, and full of squabbles, and people treasure them for exactly that reason. And when a family has grown a little wiser together, as the Hatchers have, they can carry that feeling of home wherever they go next.

Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.

1According to the passage, what really makes a house into a home?TOEFL · Factual Information

2In the passage, a decision is ___.SAT · Words in Context

3Some families make big choices by taking a “vote,” meaning they —SAT · Words in Context

4Why, according to the passage, is sharing decisions helpful?TOEFL · Factual Information

5The passage says a home is also built from —TOEFL · Factual Information

6The passage gives “a baby’s first word” as an example of —TOEFL · Factual Information

7People treasure their messy families, meaning they ___.SAT · Words in Context

8What can the reader infer is the passage’s main idea?SAT · Inference

9According to the passage, a family that has grown wiser together can —SAT · Inference

10Insert Text (TOEFL). Look at the four squares [1]–[4] in the excerpt below. They show where this sentence could be added:
“It is those small, shared moments, far more than any building, that quietly turn a group of people into a family.”

A home is not really made of walls. [1] It is made of the people inside it and how they belong together. [2] Families share meals, jokes, and small daily routines. [3] Over time, those little moments bind them tightly together. [4]

Where would the sentence fit best?TOEFL · Insert Text

Part 6 · Optional

Creative Writing

A bonus challenge to practice your English. Take your time and have fun with it.

About This Section

This writing task is optional and is not part of your auto-graded score. The feedback below checks only the basics — length, spelling, and grammar — not whether your ideas are right or wrong. It is meant for classroom discussion and creative practice, so feel free to use your imagination!

Writing Task — Part 8 “What Makes a Home”

The Hatchers decide that home is wherever the family is. Write about what makes a place feel like home to you — the people, the moments, the little things. Or write about the whole Peter-and-Fudge story: what will you remember most? Write at least 40 words.

You can start with: “What makes a place feel like home to me is…”

0 / 40 words minimum

🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)

No right or wrong — close the screen and tell someone nearby the whole story of Peter, Fudge, Tootsie, and the year in Princeton. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.

🐦 You Finished Superfudge! 🐦

Mini Report Card · the whole journey, part by part

Part	What Happened	Big Idea
1	Peter learns a new baby is coming; he threatens to run away	Facing a big change
2	Baby Tootsie is born; Fudge grows wildly jealous	Sibling rivalry
3	The family moves from New York to Princeton	A new setting
4	Peter befriends Alex and starts to settle in	A friend makes a home
5	Fudge’s kindergarten disaster with his teacher	Home rules vs. school rules
6	Uncle Feather, the talking myna bird, joins the family	Every character has a voice
7	Fudge and Daniel disappear and are found at a bakery	Fear, relief & consequence
8	Tootsie says ‘yuck’; the family votes to move home	A dreaded change, treasured

A new baby, a big move, a talking bird, and a boy who grew up a little — a warm, funny story about family, change, and finding home wherever the people you love are. Well done, reader.

Part 8 Complete!

You finished pages 146–166 of Superfudge.

Here are your auto-graded results:

-

points out of 100

Teach it to someone

The best last step is to teach it. In your own words, explain what happened — retell a favorite scene, teach a character’s big choice, or sum up the main idea for a parent, friend, or classmate. When you can teach it clearly, you truly own it.

📊 See Your Full Report Card

Independent study guide by Garden Heights Academy. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the author or any rights holders. Contains original analysis only; no text from the novel is reproduced.