Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Judy Moody Goes to College
Illustrator: Peter H. Reynolds
Fiction Series
For ages 6 to 9
Candlewick Press, 2009 ISBN: 978-0763643225
Judy Moody’s class has a substitute teacher called Mrs. Grossman, and she is nothing like their regular teacher. Deciding that Mrs. Grossman is not worth listening to - she says “Blah, blah, blah” too much - Judy lets her thoughts wander during math class. As a result, Mrs. Grossman sends a note home to Judy’s parents, and Judy is told that she needs a math tutor.
At first, Judy gets into a mood about having to have a tutor, but when she finds out that her tutor is a college student, Judy perks up. She is going to college! Sort of.
Judy’s tutor, Chloe, is a delightfully unique person who uses wonderfully unconventional ways to help Judy see that math can be fun. Chloe takes Judy to the college coffee shop where they have hot drinks and play the Game of Life. Later they count the cars in the parking lot and Judy creates a graph showing how many red, yellow, and blue cars there were.
As is usual with Judy, she quickly submerges herself in her new interest. She adopts college fashion, speech, and Chloe’s math philosophy. She even redecorates her room at home to make it look more like a dorm room. Unfortunately, Judy’s “peeps” at school are not thrilled with her new persona, and she soon finds herself eating alone at lunch. Though she and Chloe get along very well, Judy’s friends don’t like college girl Judy.
Judy Moody fans are sure to enjoy seeing how Judy’s attitude changes as this amusing story unfolds. She goes from having a “bad-i-tude” to having a “math-i-tude.” Thankfully she also gets to the point where she has “grat-i-tude.” Full of “rad” slang that readers are sure to find “crucial,” this book is both entertaining and amusing.
