Hi guys! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and are looking forward to the new year! 2018 is just around the corner and I can’t believe it! Today I’m going to be posting my reviews of Megan McDonald’s series Judy Moody.

If you’ve never read this series… I seriously think you’re missing out.

Judy Moody was in a Mood by: Megan McDonald: Judy is a 10-year-old girl who can get pretty moody. She, along with her brother Stink and her best friend Rocky, are after adventure. When asked to create a ‘Me Collage” in school she must go and find the things that make her, her. It’s very well crafted novel that takes readers down the silly adventures of a third grader. McDonald’s characterization of Judy is done so well; from every angle Judy the character is dimensional. Even her secondary characters are very well thought of, and put together; they don’t just support Judy, they hold up on their own. Reading this you can tell a lot of thought was put into the creation of her characters and the plots that they are presented with. This novel is a fun, and altogether funny story with learning curves that can teach or influence young minds.

Judy Moody Gets Famous by: Megan McDonald: All Judy wants in life is to become famous for something. Everyone around her seems to have made it into the local paper, and this makes Judy jealous. Thinking inside the box, she tries everything she can think of. It isn’t until one day Judy does a good deed, and without thinking about it she gets her fame. The novel takes on a child’s dream of being famous, and does a very good job; the plot, at first doesn’t seem original, but as the story continues it’s very original, it’s written well, and executed wonderfully. McDonald’s characters are fresh, versatile and diverse. It even had life lessons to learn from, which makes this novel such a good story. Overall, this novel is worth the read, and even a re-read.

Judy Moody Saves the World by: Megan McDonald: Judy Moody is back, and she is set out to save the planet. When she finds out that everyone around her is hurting the rain forest, even by using pencils, she rallies up her third grade class to help gather bottles to be recycled to plant trees in the rain forest in Costa Rica. This novel dives into the act of teamwork and getting together for a good cause. It really shows how kids can get become active in their communities, and gives them the incentive to do better for the world. The plot was really well done, not only in the lessons it teaches but the pacing of the novel was done well; nothing moved too fast. That mixed with the character development, and character interaction made the novel a very pleasant read. McDonald really chooses great characteristics for her characters to stand out among all the rest.

Judy Moody Predicts the Future by: Megan McDonald: When Judy finally wins a mood ring in her cereal she becomes obsessed with predicting the future. Claiming she can predict the future everyone in her class are amazed. But when things don’t go exactly as planned, Judy has to make a strong comeback. For this comeback she must prepare for her biggest prediction yet. In this story the reader goes on a crazy journey with Judy about what the future holds. The plot was really well executed, and exciting. The reader didn’t know where the story was going, which is what made it a really fun read. The characters were well written and developed. Judy is relatable and full of life, giving the story that extra bit of cheeriness. This novel was a lovely addition to the Moody series.

Judy Moody M.D.: The Doctors In! by: Megan McDonald: Judy is learning all about bones in her third grade class. When her brother gets sick, she has a lot of fun pretending to be his doctor, she even gets to visit a hospital and talk to doctors. In this wonderful tale Judy’s thirst for knowledge is infectious, inspiring and completely sweet to read about. The journey that she takes to learn about tonsillitis, and cloning are crazy and wild, but are definitely fun and engaging. McDonald knows how to create a plot in which the reader can’t help but laugh out loud to the silly things Judy and her friends say or do. Her characters are generally curious about life, and want to know all the answers, which is a great tool for young readers to get them on the path to wanting to learn. It’s a fun novel full of information and silly plots.

Judy Moody Declares Independence by: Megan McDonald: When Judy and her family take a trip to Boston to learn about America and their freedoms, Judy meets a girl named Tori from England. The two learn a lot about each other’s culture and this gets Judy’s mind turning. Judy wants more freedoms and independence; her parents on the other hand aren’t on board. Now she must prove to them that she can be independent. This novel dives deep into the mind a child growing up and realizing some of the freedoms that come with growing up. Learning to be your own person and become independent. It was a great novel to open kid’s eyes to the possibilities out there. McDonald did a perfect job with promoting strong female women of history to be Judy’s role model. The plot was quirky and fun, just as Judy is. It also showed a more mature side of her character, when it came to her brother. The characters are all really well created, and even the parents are done well because they are believable, and relatable. Overall, this was another great installment to the Moody series.

Judy Moody Around the World in 8 ½ Days by: Megan McDonald: There is a new girl in Judy’s life, Amy Namey. She is just like Judy, and at first Judy is jealous about all the attention she is getting. Once they become friends, Judy can’t be separated from Amy and this makes her friends upset that they have been forgotten. This leaves Judy to do her project on Italy all by herself. This novel shows the meaning of friends, and just because you meet new people, doesn’t mean you forget about the old. The plot was done well, as it teaches kids how to have friends. There was never a moment during the novel where the action wavered; it was engaging and fun to read. The characters were done well, there wasn’t too much development, but they did learn some valuable lessons, which makes this worth reading.

Judy Moody Goes to College by: Megan MacDonald: When Judy finds she’s not doing so well in math class her parents decide to get her a tutor, a college student. This means Judy gets to go to college every weekend to not only learn math, but learn how to be a college kid. In this eighth installment, Judy is off on bigger and brighter adventures. It’s fun to watch Judy become older than she really is to prove how smart she is, although she doesn’t need to do this as readers know how smart she is through her love for learning. The plot was super engaging; readers didn’t know what to expect from Judy, and the new things she’s learning. As she makes her way through the third grade, she gets smarter and more hilarious. Her character growth is enjoyable to read.

Judy Moody: Girl Detective by: Megan McDonald: Judy has found a new obsession: Nancy Drew. Now wanting to be a detective just like Nancy she looks high and low for mysteries to solve. When Mr. Chips, the friendly police puppy goes missing, Judy takes this as an opportunity to show off her detective skills. This book is filled with fun adventures and takes the reader through clues to find the missing puppy. The plot was well written, and well played out. Seeing Judy get excited about this new adventure still feels fresh, even though this is the ninth book in the series. Judy and her friends are characters that are fun, light and relatable. It feels like these books just keep getting better and better.

Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer by: Megan McDonald: It’s summer and Judy has everything planned out, that is until all her friends have their own plans. Feeling left behind she thinks the summer is going to be a bummer, until her Aunt Opal comes to babysit her and Stink. This novel was filled with hilarious adventures one after another. The plot was fun and super engaging. The addition of Aunt Opal was perfect as she made the plots move with ease and gave Judy and Stink the opportunity to really have a thrill filled summer. Her relationship with all the kids was really well rounded and just perfect to read. Even the addition of some new characters really made things interesting and well worth the read. This has got to be one of the most exciting Judy Moody books yet.

Judy Moody and the Bad Luck Charm: Judy has found herself on a lucky streak, but when her lucky penny gets dropped in the toilet, things start to go downhill fast. Not everything is bad luck, but the more to tries to press her luck, the worse luck she receives. This novel at first started off as a little on the boring side, and had felt like it had no real direction. It wasn’t until the last chapter or so that we learn the purpose of the book, and the real plot, as Judy was kind of aimlessly doing things lucky or unlucky. Like the past novels, this was sweet, but it felt like it was missing a lot of those antics that really make it a Judy Moody novel. McDonald’s characters didn’t jump off the pages like they usually do, and they didn’t feel as vibrant. This definitely wasn’t the best out of them all, but it was still a pleasant read.

Judy Moody Mood Martian by: Megan McDonald: It’s Backwards Day and Judy decides that she’s not going to get into a mood at all; she’s going to be good, clean and tidy. After one day of it she decides to challenge herself to go a whole week without getting into a mood. Once she sets her goal in motion her friends and brother start to think she’s an alien. This novel was fun, and really made learning fun. No matter what Judy seems to get herself into, it’s always super pleasant to read. McDonald has really created a character that has so many sides and she just walks off the page. Not only is she relatable to her younger audience, but her older audience too. The plots also never get old; even though it’s the same characters each book McDonald has a way to make every novel fresh and exciting that it feels like readers will never get tired of reading her stories.

Judy Moody and the Bucket List by: Megan McDonald: When Judy finds a list in her grandma’s purse, she soon finds out all about what a bucket list is and is quick on her way to making one herself. She sets out on a list of things to do before she gets to the fourth grade. Things start off slow, but as she makes her way things get easier. This novel, not only shows Judy learning about setting goals for herself, but it shows the challenges she has to overcome to get to the end result. This was fun and exciting to see Judy so excited about different things. The character growth in Judy was so well done; it was subtle, but done in the best way possible. It was also really good to see the characters, mainly her grandma, around her be very supportive of her, and to see the relationships blossom, mostly between her and Stink. The plot was engaging and inspiring; the writing was fun and inviting. It felt like this was an ending to Judy as she’s leaving the third grade behind to start new adventures in the fourth grade, and McDonald made it feel very final. Maybe we’ll see more of Judy one day.