Judy Moody Was In A Mood

by Megan McDonald, Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator)

Paperback

Published January 1, 2011

About the author

"Sometimes I think I am Judy Moody," says Megan McDonald, author of the Judy Moody series, the Stink series, and THE SISTERS CLUB. "I'm certainly moody, like she is. Judy has a strong voice and always speaks up for herself. I like that."

For Megan McDonald, being able to speak up for herself wasn't always easy. She grew up as the youngest of five sisters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father, an ironworker, was known to his coworkers as "Little Johnny the Storyteller." Every evening at dinner the McDonalds would gather to talk and tell stories, but Megan McDonald was barely able to get a word in edgewise. "I'm told I began to stutter," she says, leading her mother to give her a notebook so she could start "writing things down."


Critically acclaimed, the Judy Moody books have won numerous awards, ranging from a PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Book of the Year to an International Reading Association Children's Choice. "Judy has taken on a life of her own," the author notes, with nearly 3 million Judy Moody books in print. Interestingly, the feisty third-grader is highly popular with boys and girls, making for a strong base of fans who are among Megan McDonald's strongest incentives to keep writing, along with "too many ideas and a little chocolate." And now -- by popular demand -- Judy Moody's little brother, Stink, gets his chance to star in his own adventures! Beginning with STINK: THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING KID, three more stories, and his own encyclopedia, STINK-O-PEDIA, Stink's special style comes through loud and strong -- enhanced by a series of comic strips, drawn by Stink himself, which are sprinkled throughout the first book. About the need for a book all about Stink, Megan McDonald says, "Once, while I was visiting a class full of Judy Moody readers, the kids, many with spiked hair à la Judy's little brother, chanted, 'Stink! Stink! Stink! Stink! Stink!' as I entered the room. In that moment, I knew that Stink had to have a book all his own."


More recently, Megan McDonald has recalled some of her own childhood with the warmth, humor -- and squabbles -- of three spunky sisters in THE SISTERS CLUB.


Megan McDonald and her husband live in Sebastopol, California, with two dogs, two adopted horses, and fifteen wild turkeys that like to hang out on their back porch.

Reviews

[Emilie Jenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's very good so far very dramatical

[London Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Judy Moody Was in a Mood by Megan McDonald was a good book. The story follows Judy Moody, who is a third grader that starts the school year feeling cranky and moody. At first, she doesn’t want to do her assignments or be in class, but over time, we see her personality come out in funny and creative ways.What I liked about the book is that Judy is a very relatable character and I can even see a little of my younger self in her character.

I think this book would be great for grades 1-4 (although the vocabulary may be a little challenging for some first graders).The story is a little longer than the average early reader chapter books but its such a fun read that you wouldn't notice that its a longer chapter book!

[Patricia Vladutoiu]

My favorite character is Judy Moody. I like her because she is funny and she went in pajamas to school and she likes summer.
She ate a shark, she collected things and she had a doctor doll.
What surprised me the most was that she ate a shark, that she wanted to become
a doctor and she had a pet plant. The plant was named Jaws.
What also surprised me was that she was treating her doll as a patient.
I would not change the ending because it is a happy ending and Judy Moody was in a good mood because she ate ice cream at the end.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good read. Watch out or she might "Roar!" at you!