JUDY MOODY, MOOD MARTIAN
From the Judy Moody series, volume 12
by Megan McDonald ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Back again for her 12th outing, Judy tries to take the “moody” out of her name, with mixed results.
Everyone knows that Judy has a tendency to sink into bad moods at the slightest provocation. Yet after she celebrates Backwards Day at school by cleaning up her act and becoming a calm, serene soul, the experience goes so well that she privately vows to keep it up for an entire week. To combat her mood swings, Judy throws herself into finger knitting, a craft that can effectively distract her from her anger. Unfortunately, this brand-new Judy is so strange and different that her friends are convinced she must be an alien from another planet. Worse, her finger-knitting project grows so extensive that it threatens to take over the house. Happily, Judy hits on the perfect solution to all her problems, successfully fulfilling her vow and ending up with the craziest math project of all time. The delightfully flawed Judy’s trials with being “good” will resonate with any child forced to summon a little self-control. Utterly appealing pen-and-ink art and situations readers can’t help but enjoy are evidence for why Judy’s adventures continue to be popular.
Even new Moody fans will find diving into the series this late in the game a pleasure. (Fiction. 6-9)