32 pages • 1 hour read
Judy Moody Was in a Mood. Not a Good Mood. A Bad Mood.
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The Ups and Downs of Siblinghood
In Judy Moody Was in a Bad Mood., the protagonist experiences the ups and downs of being an elder sibling to her mischievous little brother, Stink. The two siblings fit into a typical older-younger sibling dynamic, as Stink tends to be clumsier and more naive, and Judy tries to correct his behavior. For instance, when Stink comes downstairs in his American flag costume, Judy is quick to critique it, noting that he has the wrong number of states and looks silly. She tells him, “Guess what. There are 50 states, Stink…You look like a star-spangled mummy and walk like a banana” (71). Judy also wants to maintain her own friendships and sometimes tries to exclude Stink from her activities, which he is desperate to join. For instance, Judy wants to go to the store with her friend Rocky and leave Stink at home: “‘I’m going too,’ said Stink. ‘No you’re not,’ Judy told him. ‘You and Rocky can take him along,’ said Mom, giving her one of those looks” (24). These conflicts demonstrate the challenges of their sibling dynamic.
By showing how much they are initially prone to conflict, Judy’s forgiveness and collaboration at the end of the novel allow McDonald to display the protagonist’s character development. When Stink’s clumsy mistake stains Judy’s Me Collage with juice, he guiltily tells his sister what happened. Judy is initially upset and yells at Stink for his mistake: “Stink! You wrecked it. Dad! How could you let him drink Jungle Juice in the car?” (86). However, Judy manages her frustration, allowing her to make up with her brother and fix her presentation at the same time. Judy tells Stink, “‘It’s okay…At least it didn’t get run over by a bus in a tornado.’ ‘It’s okay?’ asked Stink. ‘You mean, you’re not going to put a rubber foot in my bed or anything?’ ‘No,’ said Judy. She grinned at her brother. ‘But that is a good idea’” (86). Judy and Stink’s interactions portray Judy as a loving big sister who experiences the ups and downs of siblinghood and can navigate better navigate them by the novel’s end.
Learning to Manage Emotions
Throughout the novel, Judy Moody learns to recognize and control her feelings at home, at school, and with her friends. At the beginning of the story, Judy is in a grumpy mood on the first day of school. Rather than trying to change her mindset, she wallows in her bad feelings throughout the day. For instance, Judy reacts negatively to Mr. Todd’s assignments, even though she doesn’t mind them. She acts unimpressed about his collage idea, even though she likes it: “A Me Collage! It sounded fun to Judy, but she didn’t say so” (18). When Mr. Todd asks the class to do spelling, Judy intentionally gets back into a more contrary state of mind: “‘Yuck. Spelling,’ Judy said under her breath, remembering her bad mood” (18). These initial plot points demonstrate the effort Judy must put in to change her outlook and navigate negative emotions.
She is more reactive and negative about unfamiliar people and experiences. For example, she resents her desk-mate, Frank Pearl, because she assumes that the rumors about him eating paste are true, and she thinks he is strange. When she begrudgingly attends his birthday party, Judy immediately assumes that it will be a bad experience when she realizes that she is the only girl there: “Alone. At Frank Pearl’s all-boy-except-her birthday party…Judy decided to stay in the Pearl’s bathroom forever” (64). Judy is pleasantly surprised by her experience, however, as she receives a special party favor of gemstones from Mrs. Pearl and bonds with Frank over their mutual love of collections. This experience shows Judy that her negative first impressions aren’t always right, and she can turn her experiences around by being more open to others.
By the end of the story, Judy shows that she is maturing and learning to not let her emotions control her behavior. She forgives her little brother for wrecking her collage and calmly fixes it by turning its juice stain into the shape of her home state Virginia. Her father praises how she managed her feelings, telling her, “I’m proud of you Judy…the way you took an accident like this and turned it into something good” (87). Judy’s journey of learning to manage her feelings shows her growing maturity and openness to different experiences. As Judy realizes that she can put effort into managing her moods, she learns to turn negative experiences into positive ones.
Navigating School and Relationships
As Judy begins the third grade in Mr. Todd’s class, she navigates her relationship with school, her teacher, and her new classmates. Judy is initially nervous about going to her new class, as it includes unfamiliar faces and routines. Her anxiety comes out differently to those around her, however, as stubbornness or grumpiness. The author writes, “Judy Moody was in a mood. Not a good mood. A bad mood. A mad-faced mood” (8). Judy’s bad mood is clear to everyone around her. At home, Judy simply gives a “roar” at her parents when they ask her to get ready, and her friend, Rocky, notices her grumpy attitude as they wait at the bus stop together.
Initially, Judy is anxious and irritable about her class. Judy’s hidden anxiety also makes her more negative about doing her schoolwork, even though it’s easy for her: “The new Grouchy pencils helped her think. She found the words TREE, TEXAS, and TAXI hidden in Mr. Todd’s spelling on the board. But instead she wrote down 1) NO 2) NO 3) NO 4) NO 5) NO” (19). She even refuses to talk to her desk-mate Frank Pearl, even though he is nice and welcoming to her.
Judy’s experience of school soon changes for the better as she learns to navigate her relationships with more positivity. As Judy becomes more familiar with her class and classmates, her attitude softens, allowing her to develop good relationships with her teacher and class. For instance, when Mr. Todd offers to let her keep the pizza table if she comes back to school in a better mood, Judy enthusiastically agrees that this is a good deal. She also becomes more eager to connect with her classmates. By showing Judy’s interest in sharing her life with the other children, McDonald emphasizes that she is feeling more at home in the third grade. For example, she is excited to bring Jaws to school to introduce it to the class for Share and Tell: “‘It’s MY FAVORITE PET,’ said Judy. ‘Meet Jaws!” (43). She becomes more friendly toward others, especially Frank Pearl, who she acknowledges as a friend by the end of the book. She also happily shares her Band-Aid collection with the class after her collage presentation, allowing everyone to have a tattoo Band-Aid from her collection. Judy’s generosity and kindness show that she has learned how to be a positive classmate and friend, making her third-grade relationships much better. By the novel’s end, Judy has grown confident and happy at school and in her relationships with others.
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