Judy Moody, Mood Martian

June 1, 2014

Gr 1-3-In the 12th book of the popular series, Judy dares herself to try out a new mood. It's Backwards Day, so she spreads good cheer, smiles at everyone, and is nice to her stinky little brother.

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July 1, 2014
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)

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July 1, 2014
Grades 2-4 Inspired by the success of her school's Backwards Day, Judy dares herself to stay in a good mood for an entire week. That's seven days of a tidy room, neatly done hair, homework done early, and absolutely no roaring or stomping. Only her new obsession for finger knitting is keeping her from breaking her good mood challenge. Still, she manages to stay cheerful when her parents refuse to buy her more yarn. But this new Judy is so different and normalboring eventhat brother Stink and her friends are convinced she has been replaced by an alien. When Judy's knitting threatens to take over her house, she uses a giant ball of yarn to surprise the class in a stunt that reassures her friends that she is the same old Judy. McDonald's peppy writing, with an undercurrent of understanding and sympathy for irrepressible Judy's struggles, and Reynolds' energetic line drawings make for another winning entry in this popular series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)