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 2nd or 3rd 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.
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