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

by Megan McDonald, Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

The misadventures of one feisty character illustrate a necessary point: sometimes it’s okay to be moody. Judy Moody is here to prove it, and be more than a little hilarious in the process.

"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
Sales rank:	14,498
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 is the author of the award-winning Judy Moody series as well as a companion series starring Judy's brother, Stink. She is also the author of the novel The Sisters Club, as well as Ant and Honey Bee, illustrated by Brian Karas. She lives in Sebastopol, California.

Peter H. Reynolds is the illustrator of all the Judy Moody and Stink books. He is also the author-illustrator of the picture books The Dot, Ish, So Few of Me, and The North Star. He 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."
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Judy Moody"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Megan McDonald.
Excerpted by permission of Candlewick Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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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

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