Judy Moody (Book #1) [Paperback]

Megan McDonald (Author), Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: January 26, 2010 | Age Range: 6 - 9 years | Series: Judy Moody (Book 1)

Reissued in a way-cool paperback design

"Judy Moody was in a mood. Not a good mood. A bad mood. A mad-faced mood."

To start, Judy Moody doesn't have high hopes for third grade. Her new desk won't have an armadillo sticker with her name on it. Her new classroom will not have a porcupine named Roger. And with her luck, she'll get stuck sitting in the first row, where Mr. Todd will notice every time she tries to pass a note to her best friend, Rocky. An aspiring doctor, Judy does have a little brother who comes in handy for practicing medicine, a cool new pet, and a huge Band-Aid collection.

Judy also has an abundance of individuality and attitude, and when Mr. Todd assigns a very special class project, she really gets a chance to express herself! Megan McDonald's spirited text and Peter Reynolds's wry illustrations combine in a feisty, funny first chapter book for every kid who has ever felt a little out of sorts.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The first day of third grade puts Judy Moody in a mad-face mood. She just knows everyone will come back from summer vacation with word T-shirts, like "Disney World" or "Jamestown: Home of Pocahontas." All Judy has is a plain old no-words T-shirt. She'll have to go to a new classroom, with a new desk, and she won't have an armadillo sticker with her name on it like she did last year. And knowing her luck, she'll end up sitting next to Frank, the boy who eats paste. For breakfast her dad makes eggs with the yellow middle broken, and her younger "bother," Stink, thinks he knows everything now that he's starting second grade. But bad moods never last long with the irrepressible Judy Moody, and before long, her day--and year--look brighter. Mr. Todd assigns the class a "Me" collage, which sets Judy on a lively and hilarious self-exploration over the next few action-packed weeks.

Prolific author Megan McDonald (Beezy and Insects Are My Life) introduces readers to a thoroughly charming, independent, willful heroine, who is far more upbeat than she likes to let on to her reading audience. Remarkably understanding adults populate Judy's world, allowing her to express her witty, resourceful self freely. Peter Reynolds's personable line drawings complement McDonald's text in a light, pleasing style. (Ages 6 to 10) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

McDonald's (the Beezy books) comical novel introduces the entertainingly mercurial Judy Moody. The book itself has a look as fresh as its heroine (a compact trim size and an inventive jacket design die-cut that reveals the bright green and orange of the cover below). From the start, Judy devises intriguing solutions to her dilemmas. The book opens on the first day of third grade, with a hilarious spread in pen-and-ink wash showing only Judy's feet sticking up from her bed as her mother attempts to rouse her from the doorway. What to wear? Judy has no T-shirt to rival her classmates' shirts touting their exotic summer destinations, so the heroine decorates a plain white T with a drawing of a shark and the words "I Ate a Shark." For a "Me collage" at school, she insists that her cat, Mouse, is too old to qualify for the "My Favorite Pet" slot; unable to find a two-toed sloth, she purchases a Venus flytrap and proceeds to overfeed it raw hamburger. Her relationship to her best friend, Rocky, and her second-grade brother, Stink, also propel the plot in diverting directions, and the dialogue is spot-on (e.g., when aspiring doctor Judy gets her kit in the mail, Stink asks, "Why can't I ever be Elizabeth Blackwell, First Woman Doctor?" and she responds, "For one thing, you're a boy"). It's hard to imagine a mood Judy couldn't improve. Ages 6-9. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Age Range: 6 - 9 years
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; Reissue edition (January 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763648493
• ISBN-13: 978-0763648497
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 7.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

10 THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME

10. The first book I ever wrote was about a hermit crab, inspired by a pet I once owned.

9. My favorite color is purple.

8. I love to read mysteries. When I was Judy's age, I read all 56 classic Nancy Drew books . . . in order! Jeepers!

7. I used to collect scabs so I could examine them under the microscope that I got for my 8th birthday.

6. My four sisters and I often made up our own language, which included the words "Hoidi Boidi", "oogey", "retzel crummypuss" and "poony-poony".

5. My favorite TV show is JEOPARDY!

4. To research my Sisters Club book, THE RULE OF THREE, I toured San Francisco in search of the ultimate cupcake. The winner: Sleepless in San Francisco. Think chocolate + coffee.

3. When I was a kid, I fell down a hill from chasing the ice-cream truck and had to get stitches.

2. When I was a librarian, I used to tell stories in sign language. That's how I got the expression "same-same" for Judy.

1. I share a birthday (February 28) with a famous princess, race car driver and gangster, a Rolling Stone, a French tightrope walker, and a winning racehorse named Smarty Jones.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read All-About-Judy Moody! May 12, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Judy Moody is a wonderful book - thought provoking, adventurous... and funny! Not only will readers have fun learning about Judy and her moods, but they'll also learn how Judy deals with her moods. Luckily Judy is quite a creative thinker, which helps her turn some of the "worst things ever" into some of the best things ever. The illustrations are absolutely fabulous - very whimsical and playful... a perfect fit for the story!

As a guidance counselor, I can already see many ways to use Judy Moody with kids in my work - from discussing "moods", problem solving, and friendships, to self-awareness through the "All-About-Me" project. This book will appeal to both boys and girls alike - a must for every library, classroom, and family bookshelf!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Will put you in a good mood December 13, 2003

By SLP books

Format:Paperback

I recently read this book with my 8 year old son for the bookclub we are in through his school library, and we loved it. He was intent on not reading it at first because he thought it was a "girls book", but when we finished it the other day he was actually disappointed. I found it to be heartwarming and funny. Especially her turnaround in feelings about the "eats paste" kid and the TP club. He seemed to enjoy it a lot, you will too.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Rarified September 22, 2005

By E. R. Bird HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

After your young child has devoured his or her fill of "Junie B. Jones" books and has gobbled up the entire "Amber Brown" series without so much as breathing, it can be hard to know where to go next. The answer is a series that I like to consider child-driven. You'll never hear adult praising the magnificence of "Judy Moody" books. Parents don't think to recommend her and educators have entirely missed out on her appearance in their students' hands. Kids, however, request her by name. They ask frantically where the "Judy Moody" books can be found and heaven help you if you're a children's librarian caught not knowing who she is. I, for the longest time, sort of lumped her together with the "Molly Moon" books (which I had also not read). A quick perusal of both was enough to cure me of THAT little quirk. Now when a kid asks me for "Judy Moody" stories, I know they're just looking for books about an average little girl who has some normal adventures and some extraordinary spunk.

Judy wakes up the first day of school in a mood. "Not a good mood. A bad mood. A mad-face mood". Fortunately, there's more to the story than that. Meeting your heroine right off the bat when she's woken up on the wrong side of the bed doesn't show you the good side of Judy initially. At first, she's a cranky crochety gal who's little brother bugs her, who makes fun of her teacher's name, and who can't stand her eternal crushee, Frank Pearl. "Ever since they had danced the Maypole together in kindergarten, this boy would not leave her alone". Fortunately, teacher Mr. Todd has a wonderful assignment for the class. They are to make a Me collage. On it, they will show items that explain who they are as a person.... Judy is intrigued and the book follows her as she sets off to figure out what her favorite pet is (*hint* it's green, has teeth, and finds spiders delicious), what the worst thing to happen to her was, what she finds funny, etc. Along the way, Judy learns that there's more to Frank Pearl than meets the eye and that even her brother's mistakes can be turned into something good.

There is nothing about Megan McDonald's creation to necessarily set her apart from the pack. She doesn't have divorced parents like "Amber Brown" or deal with issues in any way. Judy isn't as young as "Junie B. Jones" either, so her problems are a little more mature. The thing about Judy is that she's got personality. Judy likes to use the word, "rare" rather than "cool", which actually kinda works. She collects things obsessively and when she is not feeling particularly perky she shows it by proclaiming, "ROAR". I enjoyed the sections in which Judy interacted with her brother and Frank Pearl. Her brother does typical annoying-little-brother stuff, but McDonald sometimes (and unexpectedly) takes his side when Judy acts just a bit too mean. Likewise, Frank Pearl turns out to be a pretty cool guy, if you ignore the fact that he once ate paste on a dare.

For those kids who haven't quite graduated onto the "Anastasia Krupnik" books of Lois Lowry or the "Alice" series by Phyllis Naylor, "Judy Moody" fills a gap. Judy will never be as well remembered as "Ramona", but she has a style entirely of her own. I can see why both boys and girls alike are enjoying her tales. Read more ›

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars It's all right, as far as it goes March 26, 2007

By Samuel Eddington

Format:Paperback

The first book in the Judy Moody series is a quick, reasonably humorous read that follows the escapades of third-grader Judy as she goes pet shopping, lectures her younger brother, Stink, about moon rocks, and even goes to the birthday party of her nemesis, Frank Who Eats Paste, all while searching for just the right stories and items for her Me Collage.

The younger readers who use our library quite like this book and the ones that come after it. It doesn't have much depth, though -- even for juvenile lit., the characters are somewhat flat, and the episodes tend to lurch toward their conclusions. Kids looking for another chapter book fix will probably read this and enjoy it, but it likely won't stay in their memory when it's over.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Judy Moody is a brilliantly written and illustrated book! May 4, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Judy Moody is a humorous book that will keep you reading for long moments at a time.When our class read this book I was practically rolling all over the floor I was laughing so hard. The part that was my favorite was the time Judy played a trick on her brother, Stink. All in all, Judy Moody is a brilliantly written and illustrated book !

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A North Star Navigator recommends Judy Moody May 5, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

"Judy Moody has them all!" Which mood will she have today? Judy Moody is a bright story with enthusiastic spunk! This hilarious story is so funny, you'll fall over laughing! When our teacher, Ms. Pandiani, opened the book, it was like a golden ray of light just opened my heart up. All the beautiful pictures and words fit in perfectly, like puzzle pieces. People will fall in love with the book, as I did..... "What will she do?", "Please don't let her....", "Oh no, I think I know what's coming next!" Then, I suddenly realize we're out of time! I wish Judy Moody would last forever! I recommend this book to people of all ages! :-)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read It Silently, Read It Aloud, Just Read It March 28, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Every parent and teacher of third grade children should read this book to themselves then with the kids! What a fresh perspective of childhood from a grown-up. This is the way eight year olds talk, think, and act. I see it daily in the halls at school. Judy Moody sees and tells about life in a way that makes the reader laugh out loud, moan over toads, and remember all of the joys of being eight. Friendships gained, little brothers tolerated and mysterious parents all combine to make this book a must for every home and school library. The faculty and staff of our school love it so much that our copy of Judy Moody, which arrived last week, is already showing signs of wear and tear.