Sheila Tubman might pretend to be confident and totally in control in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and the rest of the Fudge series, but in Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Sheila’s inner monologue reveals she is dominated by fear. Fear of dogs, swimming pools, dark rooms, strange noises, and more have taken over Sheila’s life. She feels like she has no control over herself or her reactions to frightening things. Through Sheila’s summer in Tarrytown, Judy Blume discusses the importance of facing one’s fears head-on and being honest with oneself and others about the effect fear has on one’s life.

Throughout the novel, Sheila’s method for dealing with her various phobias typically involves denying, avoiding, and trying to escape from the things that frighten her. In the opening chapter, Sheila is unable to convince the elevator operator, Henry, to refuse to let a dog on with her, so she adopts a façade of disgust to hide her fear and gets off the elevator. Sheila thinks it’s “pretty smart of [her]” (4), but Sheila’s “smart” move forces her to climb 10 flights of stairs, making her too exhausted to complete her mother’s errand.