Judy Moody Goes to College

Judy Moody Goes to College by Megan McDonald is a story for 7 year olds about a girl sent for extra maths help who decides she is now a college student.

What happens

It starts badly. Judy's teacher Mr Todd has gone off to a conference in Bologna, and in his place is a substitute called Mrs Grossman.

Judy finds three things wrong with this straight away. Mrs Grossman is not gross. Mrs Grossman is not a man. And Mrs Grossman is not Mr Todd.

She also has extra r's in her words, glasses on a chain, and what Judy estimates to be ten gallons of perfume. There is an Attitude Tent at the back of the room, which Judy assumes is for camping.

So instead of listening Judy plays with her new Ask-a-Question Watch, which answers questions like a Magic 8 Ball. Is Mr Todd ever coming back? HAZY.

Then Mrs Grossman asks her something. Judy has not heard a word of it, so the only answer available to her is the one she has just been reading.

Hazy, says Judy, out loud, to the whole class.

That is how she ends up with a note home. She tears it in two and hands over the harmless half, then explains she rounded it down. Like the fraction. Because she is really good at maths.

Her little brother Stink is thrilled and spends the evening firing times tables at her.

The tutor plan is announced and Judy braces for the worst. Counting beads, gluing macaroni, making a cat out of a triangle, and baby flash cards, all of which Stink has promised her.

Then Dad drives her to an actual college, with a duck pond, a clock tower and a giant sculpture of bacon and eggs, and hands her over to a student called Chloe who introduces herself as C-squared.

You can guess what happens to Judy's opinion of herself after that.

The fun of it is the way she talks. Everything is enormous and everything is immediate. A bad mood is not a bad mood, it is a bad mood squared, Moody to the power of ten million. Good things are rare. Chloe's word for good is crucial, and Judy takes it home with her like a souvenir.

If you have ever watched a seven year old come back from an afternoon with an older girl talking completely differently, you will know exactly what this book is about.

One practical note. This is the American edition. It is math rather than maths, third grade rather than Year 3, a Mom, and candy. None of it will stop a confident reader, but it is worth a heads up.

What to read next

If the little brother is the funniest thing in it, Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker hands him the whole book. It opens with Stink refusing to spend his gift certificate on Judy, who is standing next to him listing everything she would like.