Megan McDonald - Judy Moody

A bad mood. A mad-face mood. Even the smell of her new Grouchy pencils could not get her out of bed. First day of school! sang her mother. Shake a leg and get dressed. Judy Moody slunk down under the covers and put a pillow over her head.

Judy? Did you hear me? ROAR! said Judy. She would have to get used to a new desk and a new classroom. Her new desk would not have an armadillo sticker with her name on it, like her old one last year. Her new classroom would not have a porcupine named Roger. And with her luck, shed get stuck sitting in the first row, where Mr. Todd could see every time she tried to pass a note to her best friend, Rocky.

Mom poked her head inside Judys room again. And think about brushing that hair, okay? One of the worst things about the first day of school was that everybody came back from summer wearing new T-shirts that said DISNEY WORLD or SEA WORLD or JAMESTOWN: Home of Pocahontas. Judy searched her top drawer and her bottom drawer and even her underwear drawer. She could not find one shirt with words. She wore her tiger-striped pajama pants on the bottom and a plain old no-words T-shirt on top. Shes wearing pajamas! said her brother, Stink, when she came downstairs.

You cant wear pajamas to school! Stink thought he knew everything now that he was starting second grade. Judy glared at him with one of her famous troll-eyes stares. Judy can change after breakfast, Mom said. I made sunny-side-up eggs for the first day of school, said Dad. Theres squishy bread for dipping. There was nothing sunny about Judys egg the yellow middle was broken.

Judy slid her wobbly egg into the napkin on her lap, and fed it to Mouse, their cat, under the table. Summer is over, and I didnt even go anywhere, said Judy. You went to Gramma Lous, said Mom. But that was right here in boring old Virginia. And I didnt get to eat hot dogs and ride a roller coaster or see a whale, said Judy. Baby cars. Baby cars.

At the mall, Judy said. You went fishing and ate shark, said Dad. She ate a shark? asked Stink. I ate a shark? asked Judy. Yes, said Dad. Remember the fish we bought at the market when we couldnt catch any? I ate a shark! said Judy Moody.

Judy Moody ran back to her room and peeled off her shirt. She took out a fat marker and drew a big-mouthed shark with lots of teeth. I ATE A SHARK, she wrote in all capitals. Judy ran out the door to the bus. She didnt wait for Stink. She didnt wait for kisses from Dad or hugs from Mom.

She was in a hurry to show Rocky her new T-shirt with words. She almost forgot her bad mood until she saw Rocky practicing card tricks at the bus stop. He was wearing a giant-sized blue and white T-shirt with fancy letters and a picture of the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster. Like my new T-shirt? he asked. I got it at Busch Gardens. No, said Judy Moody, even though she secretly liked the shirt.

I like your shark, said Rocky. When Judy didnt say anything, he asked, Are you in a bad mood or something? Or something, said Judy Moody.

Toad, said Judy. She cracked herself up. Class, please hang your backpacks on the hooks and put your lunches in the cubbies, said Mr. Todd. Judy Moody looked around the classroom. Todd. Todd.

No, but we have a turtle named Tucson. Do you like turtles? She liked turtles! But she caught herself just in time. No. I like toads. Judy cracked up again. Todd. Todd.

I knew it, said Judy. She surveyed her new front-row desk. It didnt have an armadillo sticker with her name on it. Guess Who sat across the aisle from her. Frank Eats-Paste Pearl. He glanced at Judy sideways, then bent his thumb all the way back, touching his wrist.

Judy rolled her tongue like a hot dog back at him. You like sharks too? he asked, passing her a small white envelope with her name on it. Ever since they had danced the Maypole together in kindergarten, this boy would not leave her alone. In first grade, Frank Pearl sent her five valentines. In second grade, he gave her a cupcake on Halloween, on Thanksgiving, and on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Now, on the first day of third grade, he gave her a birthday party invitation. Judy checked the date inside his birthday was not for three weeks! Even a real shark would not scare him off. Can I look inside your desk? asked Judy. He moved to one side. No sign of paste. Mr.

Todd stood in front of the class. GINOS EXTRA-CHEESE PIZZA was printed in large letters on the board. Are we having extra-cheese pizza for lunch? Judy asked. For Spelling. Mr. Youll see. Youll see.

Then he said, Okay! Third grade! Listen up! Were going to try something different to kick off the year, as a way of getting to know one another. This year, each of you will make your own Me collage. All about YOU. You can draw or cut out pictures and paste things to your collage that tell the class what makes you YOU. A Me collage! It sounded fun to Judy, but she didnt say so. We dont have to draw a map of our family, then? asked Jessica Finch.

Im passing out a list of ideas for things you might include, like your family. Im also giving everyone a folder for collecting the things you want to put on your collage. Well work on these as we have time over the next month. At the end of September, youll each get a chance to tell the class about YOU.