Judy Moody Was in a Mood (Judy Moody Series #1)

by Megan McDonald, Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator)

Overview

The mercurial Judy Moody will delight any kid who's known a bad mood or a bad day—and managed to laugh anyway.

"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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536200713
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	04/10/2018
Series:	Judy Moody Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 7.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	530L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Megan McDonald grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with four older sisters, and she says that most of the stories in Judy Moody "grew out of anecdotes about growing up with them." In fact, she made Judy the oldest sister because she "wanted to see what it's like to be in charge!" Megan McDonald is the author of numerous children's books and lives with her husband in Sebastopol, California.

Peter Reynolds is an award-winning animator, artist, author, Web site creator, and educator. Peter says he felt an immediate connection to Judy Moody because, "having an 11-year-old daughter, I have witnessed firsthand the adventures of a very independent-minded girl." Peter Reynolds lives in Dedham, Massachusetts.

Read an Excerpt

When Judy Moody arrived in third grade, her teacher, Mr. Todd, stood by the door, welcoming everyone. "Hello there, Judy."

"Hello, Mr. Toad," said Judy. She cracked herself up.

"Class, please hang your backpacks on the hooks and put your lunches in the cubbies," said Mr. Todd.

Judy Moody looked around the classroom. "Do you have a porcupine named Roger?" Judy asked Mr. Todd.

"No, but we have a turtle named Tucson. Do you like turtles?"

She liked turtles! But she caught herself just in time. "No. I like toads." Judy cracked up again.

"Rocky, your seat is over by the window, and Judy, yours is right up front," said Mr. Todd.

"I knew it," said Judy. She surveyed her new front-row desk. It didn't have an armadillo sticker with her name on it.

Guess Who sat across the aisle from her. Frank Eats-Paste Pearl. He glanced at Judy sideways, then bent his thumb all the way back, touching his wrist. Judy rolled her tongue like a hot dog back at him.

"You like sharks too?" he asked, passing her a small white envelope with her name on it.

Ever since they had danced the Maypole together in kindergarten, this boy would not leave her alone. In first grade, Frank Pearl sent her five valentines. In second grade, he gave her a cupcake on Halloween, on Thanksgiving, and on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Now, on the first day of third grade, he gave her a birthday party invitation. Judy checked the date inside-his birthday was not for three weeks! Even a real shark would not scare him off.

"Can I look inside your desk?" asked Judy. He moved to one side. No sign of paste.

Mr. Todd stood in front of the class. GINO'S EXTRA-CHEESE PIZZA was printed in large letters on the board.

"Are we having extra-cheese pizza for lunch?" Judy asked.

"For Spelling." Mr. Todd held his finger to his lips like it was a secret. "You'll see."

Then he said, "Okay! Third grade! Listen up! We're going to try something different to kick off the year, as a way of getting to know one another. This year, each of you will make your own Me collage. All about YOU. You can draw or cut out pictures and paste things to your collage that tell the class what makes you YOU."

A Me collage! It sounded fun to Judy, but she didn't say so.

"We don't have to draw a map of our family, then?" asked Jessica Finch.
"I'm passing out a list of ideas for things you might include, like your family. I'm also giving everyone a folder for collecting the things you want to put on your collage. We'll work on these as we have time over the next month. At the end of September, you'll each get a chance to tell the class about YOU."

All through Language Arts and Social Studies, Judy thought about one thing-herself. Judy Moody, star of her own Me collage. Maybe third grade wasn't so bad after all.

"Okay, everybody. Time for Spelling."

"Yuck. Spelling," Judy said under her breath, remembering her bad mood.

"Yuck. Spelling," Frank Pearl agreed. Judy squinched her eyebrows at him.

"Take out a piece of paper and write down five spelling words you can find hidden in the words on the board, GINO'S EXTRA-CHEESE PIZZA."

"Cool Spelling, huh?" said a note passed to Judy by Frank.

"No," she wrote back on her hand, flashing it at him.

Judy took out her brand-new package of Grouchy pencils with mad faces on them. GROUCHY pencils-for completely impossible moods, said the package. Ever see a pencil that looks like it got up on the wrong side of the bed?

Perfect. The new Grouchy pencil helped her think. She found the words TREE, TEXAS, and TAXI hidden in Mr. Todd's spelling on the board. But instead she wrote down 1)NO 2)NO 3)NO 4)NO 5)NO.

"Who would like to tell the class five words they came up with?" asked Mr. Todd.

Judy's hand shot up.

"Judy?"

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" said Judy.

"That's one word. I need four more. Come up and write them on the board."

Judy Moody did not write TREE, TEXAS, and TAXI. Instead she wrote RAT and GNAT.

"How about BRAT?" called Rocky.

"There's no B," said Frank Pearl.

TIGER, wrote Judy.

"One more word," said Mr. Todd.

SPIT, wrote Judy.

"Can you use any of those words in a sentence, Judy?" asked Mr. Todd.

"The tiger spit on the rat and the gnat."

The whole class cracked up. Frank laughed so hard he snorted.

"Are you in a bad mood today?" asked Mr. Todd.

"ROAR," said Judy Moody.

"That's too bad," said Mr. Todd. "I was just about to ask who wants to go down to the office and pick up the pizza. It's a welcome-back surprise."
"Pizza? Pizza! For real?" The room buzzed with excitement.

Judy Moody wanted to be the one to pick up the pizza. She wanted to be the one to open the box. She wanted to be the one who got to keep the little three-legged plastic table that kept the box top from sticking to the pizza.

"So. Who would like to pick up the pizza today?" asked Mr. Todd.

"Me!" yelled Judy. "Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!" everyone shouted at once, waving their hands like windmills in the air.

Rocky raised his hand without saying a word.

"Rocky, would you like to pick up the pizza?"

"Sure!" said Rocky.

"Luck-y!" Judy said.

JUDY MOODY by Megan McDonald. Copyright (c) 2000 by Megan McDonald. Published by Candlewick Press, Inc., Cambridge, MA.

Table of Contents

Editorial Reviews

The book itself has a look as fresh as its heroine . . .The book opens . . . with a hilarious spread in pen-and-ink wash . . . the dialogue is spot-on . . . It's hard to imagine a mood Judy couldn't improve.
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

...[T]his beginning chapter book features large type; simple, expressive prose and dialogue; and plenty of child-appealing humor. Children will enjoy lively Judy and her diverse hobbies and adventures with best-friend Rocky. They'll also like the witty, detailed drawings (especially the picture of Judy's unique collage, a nice activity idea) . . . An entertaining story that portrays challenges and pleasures from a kid's perspective, and shows how making the best of things can have surprising rewards.
—Booklist

Changeable skies arch over a third-grader's moodscape in this easy-reading chapter book . . . Reynolds's black-and-white washes are perfectly placed to track Judy's ups and downs . . . Surefire fare for Cleary, Kline, and Hurwitz fans.
—Kirkus Reviews

McDonald's offbeat humor coupled with expressive black-and-white cartoonlike illustrations make Judy, her family, and her friends both appealing and realistic.
—The Horn Book Guide

Fans of Beverly Cleary and the Amber Brown books should appreciate this fresh, energetic series about an irresistibly willful third grader.
—FamilyFun

Judy is just, well, intense, in that at-odds-with-the-whole-world way typical of third graders . . . this large-type chapter book is immensely funny . . . Fuming all the way, Judy Moody rules.
—FamilyFun

From the Publisher

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 Cahners Business Information.|

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Young readers will enjoy meeting Judy Moody--and her many moods--in this funny, easy-to-read chapter book. Judy has a little brother named "Stink," a bug-eating pet plant named "Jaws" and a roomful of "stuff" collections. She has a best friend, Rocky. AND a 'pest' friend--paste-eating, dull-as-dirt Frank Pearl. Judy's adventures begin on the first day of third grade when her new teacher, Mr. Todd, asks each student to create a ME collage. This puts Judy into a happy, cut-and-paste mood! But, it's also the day that Frank Pearl invites Judy to be the one-and-only girl at his upcoming just-for-nerds birthday party. Ouch--Judy gets a stubborn, grouchy mood attack! Readers will laugh along with Judy's moods, good and bad, as she discovers that sometimes the "Worst Thing Ever" corner of your ME collage can bump right against your "Funniest Thing Ever" spot...and that sometimes a 'pest' friend can put you in the best of moods. Adding immensely to the fun of this book are Peter Reynolds' funny, squiggly, pen-and-ink drawings, which have been sprinkled liberally throughout the text. 2000, Candlewick Press, Ages 8 to 11, $15.99. Reviewer: Dianne Ochiltree

Children's Literature - Children's Literature

Gr 2-4-Judy Moody is grumpy. She hates the thought of summer ending and dreads starting third grade, until her new teacher asks each student to create a "Me" collage to share with the class. Then she can't wait to tell about her new pet-a Venus flytrap that eats bugs and hamburger, the T.P. (Toad Pee) Club initiation, and how she ate a shark over the summer. Judy's second-grade brother Stink and her friend Rock are major figures in the story as is her nemesis, Frank Pearl. Judy is independent, feisty, and full of energy, a delightful new character for beginning chapter-book readers. Reynolds has captured her personality in his humorous illustrations done in watercolor, tea, and pen and ink.-Janie Schomberg, Leal Elementary School, Urbana, IL Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

School Library Journal

Changeable skies arch over a third-grader's moodscape in this easy-reading chapter book from the versatile McDonald (The Night Iguana Left Home, 1999, etc). Whether it's having to sit next to Frank "Eats Paste" Pearl on the first day of school, having a toad relieve itself in her hand, or playing the role of a cavity at the Brush Your Teeth Week assembly while her little brother Stink gets to tour the White House, something is always putting Judy into a grouchy mood, at least for a while. The author casts her appealing protagonist with equally appealing friends, plus a brother who not only holds his own, but also has a redeeming ability to take a practical joke. She brings the episodic story to a satisfying climax in which Judy, instead of throwing a tantrum, resourcefully rescues her homework, a painstakingly constructed collage, after Stink accidentally splashes it with purple juice. Reynolds's black and white washes are perfectly placed to track Judy's ups and downs, though parts of the full spread scenes do vanish into the gutter. Surefire fare for Cleary, Kline, and Hurwitz fans. (Fiction. 8-10)

Kirkus Reviews