JUDY MOODY

Changeable skies arch over a third-grader's moodscape in this easy-reading chapter book from the versatile McDonald (The Night Iguana Left Home, 1999, etc). Whether it's having to sit next to Frank “Eats Paste” Pearl on the first day of school, having a toad relieve itself in her hand, or playing the role of a cavity at the Brush Your Teeth Week assembly while her little brother Stink gets to tour the White House, something is always putting Judy into a grouchy mood, at least for a while. The author casts her appealing protagonist with equally appealing friends, plus a brother who not only holds his own, but also has a redeeming ability to take a practical joke. She brings the episodic story to a satisfying climax in which Judy, instead of throwing a tantrum, resourcefully rescues her homework, a painstakingly constructed collage, after Stink accidentally splashes it with purple juice. Reynolds's black and white washes are perfectly placed to track Judy's ups and downs, though parts of the full spread scenes do vanish into the gutter. Surefire fare for Cleary, Kline, and Hurwitz fans. (Fiction. 8-10)