Illustrations – Peter H. Reynolds
This was a reread for me. I love Megan McDonald’s Stink and Judy Moody series. We first meet Judy as she’s about to begin third grade in Mr Toad’s Todd’s class at Virginia Dare School. Judy is in a mood because she didn’t go anywhere special during the vacation and she just knows that everyone else will be wearing a rare (Judy slang for cool) shirt from whatever theme park or other enviable destination they visited.
While Judy is hoping to sit near her best friend Rocky in class, she is certain she’ll be forced to sit near Frank Eats-Paste Pearl. Naturally she’s correct and she has to sit at the front of the classroom too. When it looks like her mood couldn’t get any worse Frank, who has pestered and irritated her every school year, invites her to his birthday party three weeks away and she has to try to find a way to get out of it.
One of the only good things that happens that day is a school assignment where each student needs to make a collage all about themselves which they will later be presenting to the class. Judy thinks this sounds like fun but of course that doesn’t match her mood so she won’t tell anyone she’s looking forward to working on it.
In Judy Moody Was in a Mood we also get to meet Judy’s parents and her younger brother Stink who became so popular he got his own spin off series. Both series are entertaining, funny and usually wind up with the kids learning something that makes them better kids than they already are. Judy is mean to Stink and plays a trick on him in this book but overall the siblings look out for one another.
I really enjoyed this reread. I discovered Judy Moody and Stink at my local library (yay libraries!) almost a year ago and have read all of each series that my library owns. While I do have a few favourites in each series there hasn’t been a single one I haven’t enjoyed. Starting from scratch again with Judy reminded me how much fun these books are and I’m now keen to reread them all.
Peter H. Reynolds’ illustrations are always wonderful and this book introduces the reader to what the Moody family look like (including their cat called Mouse) and how expressive they all are. My favourite illustration in this book is Judy’s finished collage.
Amongst other interesting tidbits you get to find out that she’s a member of the exclusive T.P. Club. T.P. doesn’t stand for toilet paper but as it’s a secret club I can’t tell you any more. We also discover throughout the book the worst and funniest things that have happened to Judy and are introduced to her various rare collections. Incidentally I can personally blame this book for my own obsession collection of cute and quirky bandaids.
Need to Eat – Rainforest Mist ice cream. I have no idea what rainforest mist tastes like but apparently it’s blue and I’m intrigued.
Need to Buy – Glow in the dark bloodshot eyeball bandaids. 👁
My first read was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The reread, now that I know the characters so well and am itching to retrace the whole adventure to date, was definitely worth ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the opportunity to read this book.
Once Upon a Blurb
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.
Schizanthus Nerd 