Judy Moody Gets Famous

Judy Moody Gets Famous by Megan McDonald

After reading and reviewing Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid, I decided to revisit Judy Moody. I read the first several books in the series when they were originally published and was not a fan. About the time Judy and her friend organized the Toad Pee Club, I was ready to throw in the towel. I suppose that was enough for me to decide I wasn’t about to read it aloud to my girls. This, the second book in the series, was on the Monarch Nominee list in 2007 which explains why I chose to review this one as opposed to another.

The mood that Judy is feeling in book two is jealous. Everyone she knows has found their fifteen minutes of fame – everyone, but Judy. Stink was born in a Jeep en route to the hospital and made the local T.V. news. Judy’s mother was featured in the local paper numerous times, most notably for being in the High School Glee Club. Judy’s father’s name was said over the radio for answering a question correctly and winning a prize. But the most aggravating case of celebrity for Judy is when pinched-faced Jessica Finch gets her picture in the paper for winning a Spelling Bee.

To add insult to injury, Stink creates the Moody Hall of Fame on the front of the family’s refrigerator and has already filled it up with all things Stink and stupendous. Judy doesn’t have anything special to add unless her mom will let her put hair from her first hair cut – yuck! Or her first loose tooth – gross! Thus begins Judy’s quest to find fame through any means necessary including deceit!

First, she tries to memorize the dictionary to beat out old Queen Bee herself. But spelling isn’t her talent, and she quickly moves on. Next, Judy sells peeks at a cherry stone she claims came from George Washington’s famed cherry tree debacle. Unfortunately, a client’s little brother thinks it’s an M&M. She wades through the Guinness Book of World Records for ideas and attempts to create the world’s longest human centipede with her friends. The attempt ends in failure and a friend’s broken finger.

Finally, at the hospital, in the children’s waiting room, genius strikes and it has nothing to do with fame or self-aggrandizement. In fact, it is Judy’s natural talent for science and dream to be a doctor that leads her in the proper direction. Judy finds her fifteen minutes without even trying, but it comes in a most unusual way. Will she be able to play along with the mystery?

So, why don’t I enjoy Judy Moody? I don’t identify with her. I can spell. In fact, I’d probably be more like her nemesis, Jessica Finch in a jeweled tiara. I never got in trouble in school. I was never a Tomboy. My friends were always girls. I wouldn’t be in a club called “you know what”. If I were a 2^nd or 3^rd grader, this simply wouldn’t be the book for me.

However! I have grown in the seven or so years since my first perusal. And my children have shown me how we are all “differently-abled”. The book certainly proves that even ornery children can and will do great things. Their orneriness may even be hiding a tender heart. This book reminds me to look for the good in others. Even Judy discovered that Jessica had something to offer.

Talking to Dragons

Talking to Dragons Patricia Wrede (audio book)

I’ve done it!! I’ve caught up with my daughter. I’ve read all four and now she can stop nagging me. I bet she wishes she could do the same.

At the conclusion of book three, King Mendanbar was imprisoned inside his own castle, without his sword. The wizards surrounded the castle with a magic shell preventing the rest of his cohorts from entering. In reply, the dragons put up their own magic shell outside of the first one to prevent the wizards from entering unwelcomed. Only the King’s Sword can break the wizards’ spell. And only the heir to the sword can wield it. Fortunately, Queen Cimorene gives birth to a baby boy named Daystar. Soon after, she hides her husband’s sword in the Enchanted Forest and takes Daystar and moves just outside of the Enchanted Forest to wait for him to come of age.

This volume is a novelty and an anomaly because it is really the next generation. Daystar is approximately sixteen and capable of carrying a sword when the Wizard Antorell finds him and his mother at their cottage. Cimorene promptly melts the wizard with a spell and tromps into the forest to retrieve the hidden sword. Upon her return, she gives the sword, a sheath and a belt to Daystar. It is time for him to leave. Or rather to enter the Enchanted Forest himself.

In his sixteen years, Daystar has received an unusual education. He knows dragon etiquette and most essentially to be polite to them. Well, actually, he must be polite to everyone for you never know who you are going to meet or their particular circumstance. For instance you might come across an enchanted princess. Daystar can also read and write. He has learned music and fighting and even a little bit of magic. All of this is quite unusual for a poor boy.

Cimorene has kept Daystar quite in the dark. He has absolutely no idea who he is. And he certainly has no clue as to his importance. OR that he is needed in order to save his father. He doesn’t even seem to be aware that he has one, let alone that his father is the King of the Enchanted Forest!

So Daystar enters the Enchanted Forest without a goal or a guide. His mother promises him that the more information he has, the greater the likelihood for him to ruin his chances at accomplishing anything let alone what he must. And truly everything good and everyone kind is depending upon him to save the Enchanted Forest from the evil wizards.

As every hero will, Daystar acquires companions along the way. There is Suz the Lizard, Shiara the Fire-Witch, Nightwitch the kitten, and Dragon who has no name. Suz acts like a little messenger. He answers the questions that he can, withholds what he must, and lets those who await Daystar know that he is on his way. Shiara is in a bit of a bind herself and on her own quest. She is a fire-witch who cannot control her magic. For some reason, she has better luck once she joins Daystar. Dragon has run away from the dragons in search of a princess to kidnap or a wizard to eat. They all have over-the-top- personalities as can be expected of the series.

Never fear, the old favorites are still near and in positions to aid as necessary. This includes Morwen the Witch and Telemain the Magician. Throw in a handful of dwarves, an elf or two, and a clutter of cats and we are ready to save the kingdom!

This book nicely wraps up the series. What a shame. We would all gladly read more!

Tuesdays at the Castle

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

There is a series of books that my 12-year-old fell in love with last year - Jessica Day George’s Dragon Slippers, Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear. Although I have read them, it was prior to this blog and therefore no review, but I highly recommend them! My daughter is always inquiring as to whether there is a new volume in the series. Sadly, I believe it is complete as a trilogy; but when I was checking, yet again, for something new, I found Tuesdays at the Castle!

It promptly sat on the floor all summer while she devoured the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede which I have reviewed this year. So when it was time to choose a new chapter book to read to my girls before bedtime… there it was. I had wanted to read it all along myself. The cover is so inviting. The premise is so magical and unique. I thought I’d give it a try. It is always challenging to find something to please the 12-year-old, the 7.5-year-old and the 41-year-old. But we have a winner!!!

This novel was something we looked forward to, eagerly, every night. Even the younger girl would forgo picture books with cats in them to get to read two chapters in one night – and not a cat in the castle! The night we finally finished it, both girls immediately asked to read it again! In fact, the elder girl is reading it a second time for her first book report this school year.

Bran, Lilah, Rolf and Celie are princes and princesses living in the Castle Glower. Castle Glower is unique in that it is magical… alive… enchanted? No one really knows how the Castle does it, but it changes. It grows. It shrinks. It adds. It plays favorites. It chooses heirs to the throne. The greatest changes happen on Tuesdays.

Celie is the youngest of the siblings and is our 11-year-old heroine. She has an odd hobby. She is keeping an atlas of the Castle. She also has a special relationship with the Castle. Everyone feels that Castle Glower likes her best. It bestows special favors upon her. It even seems to listen to her.

King and Queen Glower are leaving the Castle to pick up eldest brother Bran who has been away at Wizarding School. Bran never had any interest in ruling the Kingdom of Sleyne and the Castle acknowledged his feelings and bestowed the heirship to younger brother Rolf. The King and Queen leave the younger siblings in the hands of the capable household staff.

At the appointed time, the royal carriage returns, but without the royal couple and only with a trusted sergeant. The royal threesome and their entourage had been attacked by bandits and now they are vanished without a trace. The Royal Council sends a search party who return with gruesome news. The King, Queen and Bran are dead.

Or are they? The Castle doesn’t make any significant changes. Rolf’s bedroom doesn’t get moved any closer to the throne room. The King’s master suite doesn’t diminish. The Castle is not acting as if it has lost its monarch. Celie can see this almost immediately and her siblings trust her.

But the Council acts straightaway to set up a funeral and a coronation. Royal personages are invited including the scary Prince Khelsh and the unusual Prince Lulath. The Castle is required to make accommodations for them and their staff. But the Castle also provides Celie with a Spyglass Tower from which she receives help in the form of a language dictionary, food, magical telescopes, secret passageways to spy on her enemies, and a cloak that doesn’t make her invisible, but silent instead!

This is an excellent fantasy choice for school-age girls. It is a wonderful read aloud as well. Even better, it is full of humor. I am keeping my eye open for a sequel!

Elisa Michaels, Bigger & Better

Elisa Michaels, Bigger and Better by Johanna Hurwitz

Here is yet another Monarch nominee; here is yet another second grader, but this time it is a girl, and the book is from an already well-established series, Riverside Kids. Strangely, rather than the first book in the series, it is book fourteen and the final installment to date. I didn’t know that was allowed for nominations. For the first time ever, I read the last book first. And I am beginning to think I DON’T need to read all of them.

There is nothing wrong with this book. It is simple, contemporary, realistic fiction. Elisa Michaels is seven and she lives in New York City in an eight-floor apartment building. She lives on the fourth. She has a mother, a father, an older brother and a younger brother. Her grandparents live far away and she wishes she could see them more often. Chocolate is her favorite food. She enjoys school just fine. The Michaels’ family is ordinary – no surprises.

Even if your child doesn’t live in the big city or have two parents in the home, the average seven-year-old will be able to identify with Elisa. Elisa is testing her boundaries and her independence. She is growing up and wants to assert a little independence. Her caring family enables her to spread her wings in a timely fashion and they provide a supportive net through her successes and failures.

The book itself is written as a series of short stories. Each chapter is self-contained, but there is an arc that connects the book from beginning to end. Elisa cannot wait until her grandmother, who lives in Florida, visits New York. But the visit is nine whole months away! Elisa’s mother sets up a breakfast between the two on a Saturday morning so they can spend time together while they wait. Of course, talking on the telephone with sticky syrup fingers is a talent to be acquired. By book’s end, another opportunity to break up the long nine months presents itself. Elisa gets to go on an airplane almost by herself. AND big brother Russell hasn’t done that before!

The chapters in between are mini excursions where Elisa gets the opportunity to prove to herself as well as to her parents, that she is big enough and responsible enough for new privileges. For instance, what child doesn’t want to eat nothing but chocolate one day, all day, for a special occasion? And what if your seven-year-old really is more knowledgeable and dependable than the new babysitter? And sometimes, the creative ideas of children work better on their siblings than any and every trick known in the parents’ manual!

I would recommend this particular book to first and second grade girls who are ready for chapter books. It might be too young for third grade reluctant readers, but would be worth a try. Like I said before, there are fourteen books in this series and different kids are showcased including different ages and genders. Elisa is the title character for several and her brother, Russell, has a few himself. If Riverside Kids turns out to be a hit in your house or classroom, Johanna Hurwitz  has written over sixty books in all to choose from!

Bumped

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

From the moment I read the first professional reviews of this young adult dystopian novel, I wanted to read it. First problem was that we didn’t own it. Second problem was that we still don’t own it. Third problem is that only one other library in our entire system owns it. I checked the non-professional reviews and there is a noticeable bell-curve concerning this book. A few, like me, loved it. A few abhorred it. And everyone else bunched up in the middle.

Now, it did take me several chapters to get into it. And the language is definitely fabricated and there is no glossary. It’s almost like going to a foreign country with only a few memorized phrases in my back pocket. But then I got the hang of it and truly enjoyed the language. It is fun and funny and just plain mocking. These are teenagers however and who doesn’t get a laugh out of listening to their conversations?

The place? Our future – 2035. A virus has swept the world causing infertility to the vast majority of people over the age of eighteen. The only persons with the ability to conceive intact are teenagers. Professional couples eager to start a family must rely on surrogates for their children. The most important person in the world becomes the pregnant teen. There are amateur “breeders”. They get pregnant and the “delivery” goes to the highest bidder. And there are professional pregnancies as well. If one can afford the perfect baby, why not hire the egg and the sperm of one’s choice?

Meet Melody. She was the first girl to go professional in her town. Healthy. Gorgeous. Intelligent. Athletic. Northern-European. Musical. She has her own agent who acquired a contract for her that includes a college education at the finest, most expensive and exclusive university. But her purity is on contract as well as on hold while her clients choose the sperm-donor to bump her. And time is running out. At sixteen, she is fast approaching her obsolescence.

Melody has a secret that could potentially harm her unique position of uniquely fabulous. She has a monozygotic twin named Harmony. The two were abandoned as babies. Melody was adopted by wealthy scientists who had already foreseen the consequences of supply and demand on the nation’s newborn population. They were making an investment.

Harmony was adopted by the Church and raised in a community of families. Consider four families to one house and multiple house brothers and sisters. It is not a great example, but you could compare the Church to the Amish rather than say a Protestant church. Harmony was raised to marry young, be fruitful and multiply.

Melody knows of Harmony because her agent is good – he digs deep and he has the power to make files disappear. Harmony knows of Melody because she chose to search for her biological parents. While she didn’t find her parents, she did find a twin. She makes it her God-directed purpose in life to save her sister from a life of sin – premarital “bumping”. Harmony has God. She wants Melody to have God too. And that is how Harmony winds up at Melody’s door.

Both sisters think the other needs saving. Both sisters find their twin to be utterly dissimilar. But this is not entirely true. They are both running away from an arranged “bump”. They both come to a vivid realization about themselves and their beliefs. And that is where Bumped ends! Of course.

The book alternates in chapters. Melody speaks and then Harmony speaks. I find Melody to be the more interesting of the two because she seems to be more of a thinker. Harmony seems a touch brainwashed. But as the book progresses, Harmony becomes more interesting and then the twists and turns start leaving the reader breathless.

For a book that would seem to be about sex, there isn’t much in it and definitely NOT graphic. There is talk of massSEX parties where cheerleaders and basketball players have mass orgies in an effort to get pregnant at the same time. But the reader is never invited. There are boys known as “everythingbut”s because their genes are not worthy of procreation. There are procreationists who are people of the church who believe in spreading the seed – a worthy service to the barren.

There are also prescription drugs. Tocin to get donors in the mood. Obliteral to prevent the bonding of the mother with the “delivery.” Oh, and condoms are banned. The descriptions are all a part of the world-building. There are first-curse purses to celebrate a young girl’s entrée into the new world of pregging. There are “fun-bumps” so that girls can experience the joy of pregnancy. Oh, and the vocabulary is pitch perfect for teen girls who are concerned about their status.

The book was inspired by the question, “What if only teenagers could get pregnant?” and a heavy dose of the more recent reality show genre featuring teenage mothers.

The book is satire and it is funny on the surface. But underneath is a chilling possibility. And I came away from the book thinking that I would love to present and teach it to an appropriate class. Think Handmaiden’s Tale for the young adult. I hate to say it, but I loved it.

Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid

Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid by Megan McDonald (audio book)

The story is there were so many Judy Moody readers clamoring for more about Stink that he received his own series beginning with this title. Of course, Judy Moody is an older child and her books are written for the older reader. Stink is a second grader and so his books are perfect for the beginning chapter book readers.

I have read the first several Judy Moody books. They were all right. There were perhaps a few things that I would never have encouraged in my own household - certain words, actions that made me cringe. It has been several years and the movie later and I apologize for not being more specific. They might have been a tad modern for me. For instance, Stink? My older daughter would not be permitted to call my younger daughter by such a nickname. Therefore, I was not quick to read about Stink.

But Stink is a Monarch nominee from a few years back and I wanted to get to know the cute kid on the cover. I always liked his haircut. Silly, I know. It turns out Stink is a good kid who has to deal with an ornery big sister. Occasionally, I wish I could throttle Judy.

I like James “Stink” Moody because he is a thinker. He also likes homework just like my very own second grader. He will create homework to do when he has finished his actual. He follows rules and feels impotent when someone else disobeys them. No one will listen to the shortest boy in the second grade class - most certainly not his big sister. Things would run much more smoothly if Judy paid greater attention to Stink. In fact, lives would be saved. No kidding.

Perfect example and cringe-worthy: Stink is chosen for the honor of taking his classroom’s pet, Newton the Newt, home over the weekend. His homework includes keeping a log of Newton’s activities. Well, Newton doesn’t do much and Judy teases him about how boring Newton is. She decides to liven things up by taking Newton out of his terrarium and putting him in with their pet toad. Stink is suitably distressed. Judy didn’t even wash her hands first! But it gets worse. Later, Judy berates Stink for not keeping Newton’s home clean. She takes the terrarium to the kitchen sink to clean it out and loses Newton down the drain! THEN she flips a switch to turn on the light, but you can probably guess that it wasn’t the light switch. It was the garbage disposal switch!!

My largest problem with the book is that Judy gets away with these types of stunts unpunished. Stink is living with a bully. I didn’t find it funny, but rather, upsetting. Aside from Judy, the chapters in this book were differently delineated and it confused this adult. The chapters were not numbered, but each ended with a cartoon created by Stink himself on one page, and the new chapter’s title on the backside. It took me a while to get my rhythm. I also didn’t care for the cartoons. I found them to be a weak component even though they are meant to be the creation of a second grader. The rest of the book reads more intelligent than the cartoons.

Final thoughts: I like Stink. I don’t care for Judy in this book. Judy is the typical troublemaker and Stink is the typical good kid. Reading-wise, I would definitely recommend this book to K through 2^nd graders who are ready for early chapter books. I think the book is too “young” for reluctant 3^rd and 4^th graders, although they might enjoy living vicariously through Judy. I might have to read a few more Stink books…

Seeds of Rebellion

Seeds of Rebellion by Brandom Mull (audio book)

This is perhaps the not so eagerly anticipated second book in the trilogy known as Beyonders. Beyonders are people come from a different world. In this case, teenagers Jason and Rachel are from U.S.A., our world, and they found their way into the world of Lyrian. It was entirely by accident. Jason was eaten by a hippo and Rachel followed a butterfly through an archway. The first book is about their quest to find their way back home and defeat an emperor along the way. That book was called A World Without Heroes. At the book’s conclusion, Jason was forced to return home. He had acquired important information that would aid in the fight against the Emperor Maldor.

Book two begins with Jason at home trying to reintegrate into family and school life. The hardest part for him was explaining where he has been for the past four months. He had received a concussion prior to his disappearance, so when he says he has no recollection of the last four months, it is accepted. But even more difficult… he doesn’t want to stay. He feels compelled to return to Lyrian to share the vital information he acquired as well as rescue Rachel. So Jason makes a habit of hanging out at the zoo by the hippo enclosure. Fortunately, the hippo entrance works twice!

Right away, Jason runs into an old friend, Tark. Tark is being shadowed by a lurker, but as soon as Jason arrives, the lurker transfers its attention to Jason. Lurkers are in the pay of the emperor. They have the ability to infiltrate your mind. If the emperor so requires, they can also kill you. Tark realizes Jason’s importance to the cause – defeating the emperor – and sends him in the right direction to find safety as well as a protector. Tark agrees to deliver Jason’s message to the Blind King and the friends make plans to meet up at a future point. Thus begins the first of many journeys.

Jason heads one direction with the lurker on his tail. He acquires an unusual bodyguard and is cornered by an old acquaintance. The acquaintance is Ferrin the Displacer who is looking to recover his hand. Jason is carrying it in his backpack. They have been keeping in contact with each other through the appendage. But Ferrin is untrustworthy – he works for the emperor. The bodyguard is Aram the half giant and I won’t spoil his secret for you here.

The book continues in similar fashion. Old friends are found. New friends are made. The lurker is ever present. Once they reach their destination, they are directed to travel to a new one. Old friends are found. New friends are made. They find a way to block the lurker. They reach their destination, and are given a new mission. Action and battle ensue along the way. Monsters attempt to eat them. Spores infect them. Zombies, yes, zombies, chase them. Not impressed with the zombies.

The ending was so unmemorable that I had to read it twice. The cast gets a bit unwieldy. There wasn't as much Jason or Maldor in this installment, but Rachel and the Blind King just became more interesting. If you are a diehard follower of high fantasy, Beyonders is modern, tween/teen Lord of the Rings.

Personally, this is that awful second installment in many planned trilogies. The first was better and I hope for a rousing finale. However, this author’s original series, Fablehaven, is so far and away better; I will encourage you here to read it instead:

1: Fablehaven

2: Rise of the Evening Star

3: Grip of the Shadow Plague

4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary

5: Keys to the Demon Prison