Meet Judy

Judy Moody was in a Mood, the first book in author Megan McDonald’s Judy Moody series, is a fun chapter book about a bold third grade girl named Judy. Readers meet Judy on her first day of third grade and quickly learn that her adjustment to third grade is going to be a bit like a roller coaster ride. She begins the first day of third grade with the dread of not having a new summer vacation t-shirt like all her friends. Luckily, Judy is surrounded by friends and family who help her survive the first few weeks of third grade.

On the first day of school, readers meet Judy’s family at the breakfast table. Sunny mom and dad encourage Judy to see the best in everything about third grade from the start.  Stink, her younger brother, doesn’t seem to be too concerned about starting life as a second grader. He is much too concerned with making sure he gets to do everything that Judy does.  At the bus stop, Rocky, Judy’s best friend, introduces himself wearing one of the very t-shirts that Judy woke up dreading.

At school, Rocky and Judy have to sit apart in Mr. Todd’s class, their new third grade teacher. Much to her dismay, Judy finds herself sitting next to Frank Eats Paste Pearl. Readers quickly learn that Judy doesn’t like Frank too much, but he certainly seems to like her when he gives her an invitation to his birthday party. Things brighten up when Mr. Todd gives the whole class pizza and lets Judy keep the “pizza table” to add to her collection. Then, he introduces a big project called the “me collage” that all the students will present in two weeks.

For the next two weeks, readers watch Judy experience ups and downs as she checks items off the list of things she needs to make her collage just right for Mr. Todd’s class. Meanwhile, she keeps readers busy with new pets, secret clubs, tricks, big sister drama, and a birthday party.  As the last chapter ends, Judy’s idea of what’s “just right” is not what the reader might have at first expected. Check out the book to find out what I mean!

Judy’s personality, or characterization, really makes this chapter book interesting. Like most third grade girls, she doesn’t have very much time for younger brothers. They always seem to be getting in the way of more important things like becoming a doctor.  Judy takes her work as a third grader and future doctor very seriously. She continually has to remind her family of how important her work is to the world. While Judy is mostly determined and outspoken, she sometimes thinks things that she doesn’t say when at school. In fact, she sometimes says the opposite of what she thinks. I imagine that some real third grade students might know someone a little bit like Judy.

In addition to characterization, Megan McDonald added some juicy details about grouchy pencils, sick dolls, and band-aids. These descriptions make Judy’s world seem almost real at times.  Comical illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds are scattered throughout the book to help readers visualize McDonald’s descriptions of Judy’s world. Though the illustrations do not extensively expand on the text, small eye-catching illustrations pop up in corners to drive home the main focus of particular passages. For example, Stink might be popping his head around the corner on one page and a band-aid might be slapped onto another.

What I love most about Judy Moody was in a Mood is how easily readers can feel how Judy feels. Connecting to Judy’s feeling helps readers understand the gradual “growing up” Judy experiences throughout the book. Another cool fact about Judy is that she lives in Virginia, just like me. If you want to know more about Judy Moody, she has her own web page. Click here to see it. There is also a great link for teachers on her webpage. If you can’t get enough of Judy there, read more about her exciting life in the other Judy Moody series books.

Come walk down the street....

Night on Neighborhood Street is a soulful collection of 17 short poems written by award-winning author Eloise Greenfield. Accompanied by Jan Spivey Gilchrist’s dream-like illustrations, the poems will allow the reader to experience the nights of African American children growing up in the city. The children in these poems play together on the sidewalk and go to sleepovers.  At night, they drift off to sleep while listening to the sounds of the city which include the sounds of jazz music in the distance. Poems also provide realistic views of children who have to care for younger siblings and resist drug sellers. Readers will also feel the worries that accompany sickness or job-loss in the home.  Together the poems capture the struggles and hopes of urban African American neighborhoods.

Children will enjoy learning about the rhythm and repetition in Night on Neighborhood Street.  At the same, they can explore the concepts of neighborhoods and communities. Older children might compare their community to the one described by Greenfield in her poems. They might compare where they play to where the children in the book play. Children might also explore the roles of adults in the book’s neighborhood after reading The Meeting, a poem in which adults gather to discuss important neighborhood issues. Perhaps older students might make up their own neighborhood meeting and act it out.

While drugs and job-loss are difficult topics to discuss, Greenfield’s text and Gilchrist’s illustrations artfully expose these issues without making the content too adult for young readers. The poem The Seller depicts children turning their backs against drugs in their neighborhood. Perhaps the recent economic downfall will make the poem Nerissa especially relevant as it describes the child’s view of a family in which one parent is sick and the other is out-of-work.  On a more positive note, children will also relate to the fun memories in the poem Fambly Time, in which an African American family plays together before bedtime.  Most obviously, Night on Neighborhood Street will foster the celebration of African American heritage for generations to come.

Interestingly, author Eloise Greenfield also grew up in an African American urban community within Washington DC. This makes her a true cultural insider! She has written many children’s books that celebrate African American heritage.  Among many awards she was won, she received the NCTE Award of Excellence in Poetry for Children in 1997. The website Brain Pop Jr offers additional information about Eloise Greenfield and activities that relate to Night on Neighborhood Street. Click here to check it out.