"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.
Third grader Judy Moody is in a first day of school bad mood until she gets an assignment to create a collage all about herself and begins creating her masterpiece, the Me collage.
My thoughts:
A couple summers ago we listened to a Judy Moody book in the car on the way to the beach, but I don't think my children were quite ready to enjoy the series then. My daughter read this book in her second grade class and was really excited about it. I didn't know which one of the series she had read, so when I checked out the same one she was a little disappointed, but I think she enjoyed listening again anyway and we have since checked out a few more to listen to in the car.
Judy is fun, quirky and imaginative. She is best friends with a boy, which you don't always see in children's books, and has a little brother with a silly name, Stink. (We listened to and read a number of Stink books last year so we already know all about him!) Things don't always go right for her, and she can be very moody and grumpy, but she makes it through all the little trials of school and friends and is a good model for children. Things might not always go your way, but you can get through it and have fun.
I loved how her favorite historical person was Elizabeth Blackwell, first woman doctor. I remember reading her biography from my elementary school library years ago and being very impressed with her and the boundaries that she pushed. She also appears in one of the Magic Treehouse books so I think my children had a bit of an idea of who she was. I'm also loving that these books are only a couple hours or so long, since it makes it easier on the younger two to follow the story.
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9780763648497
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication date: 1/26/2010
Pages: 176
Age range: 6 - 10 Years
Series: Judy Moody Series, #1
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