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CM . . .
. Volume XXII Number 16. . . .December 18, 2015
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Judy Moody & Stink in the School�s Out Collection.
Megan McDonald. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds.
Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press (Distributed in Canada by Random House of Canada), 2007/2014.
3 vol., boxed set, $24.00.
ISBN 978-0-7636-8018-3.
Contents:
The Holly Joliday. (Judy Moody & Stink).
Megan McDonald. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds.
Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press (Distributed in Canada by Random House of Canada), 2007/2008.
84 pp., pbk., $7.50.
ISBN 978-0-7636-4113-9.
The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt. (Judy Moody & Stink).
Megan McDonald. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds.
Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press (Distributed in Canada by Random House of Canada), 2009/2010.
116 pp., pbk., $8.00.
ISBN 978-0-7636-4351-5.
The Big Bad Blackout. (Judy Moody & Stink).
Megan McDonald. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds.
Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press (Distributed in Canada by Random House of Canada), 2014.
130 pp., pbk., $8.00.
ISBN 978-0-7636-7665-0.
See review at Vol. XXI, No. 37, May 29, 2015.
Grades 2-5 / Ages 7-10.
Review by Crystal Sutherland.
**** /4
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excerpt:
�Stink, you�re wearing that striped pirate shirt again? Didn�t you even take a bath?�
�Pirates don�t take baths,� said Stink. �Here, smell my armpit.�
�Gross! You smell worse than a pirate�s monkey on a poop deck!�
�Yar,� said Stink.
After Mom and Dad woke up, drank buckets of coffee, and read the paper for a year, they took Judy and Stink to Silver Lake Harbor, where the treasure hunt was about to begin.�
(From The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt.)
��That�s it? Just one thing? Snow? That�s not even a present.�
�That�s all I want.�
�Not even snow boots or a snow hat or snow pants of snowshoes or a snowboard?�
�Nope.�
�Not even an inflatable igloo with fake snowballs?�
�Nope.�
�Not even a snow-globe kit or a snow-cone machine?�
�Actually, a snow-cone machine would be nice. But now. All I really want is snow.� (From The Holly Joliday)
The Judy Moody & Stink in the School�s Out Collection is full of what Judy Moody and Stink do best: they keep things fun by finding adventure while staying out of trouble� mostly.
In The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt, it may be summer vacation, but that doesn�t mean Judy Moody and Stink will be relaxing. On arriving at Artichoke Island, and after Stink recovers from a bad case of sea sickness, they discover a pirate with the last name of Moody. They must be related! A treasure hunt being held is the perfect opportunity for Judy and Stink to prove they have pirates in their family tree!
After reviewing a list or rules, and nixing rule #6 claiming girls can�t be pirates (because Judy knows the names of famous female pirates, #6 is a rule made to be broken), Judy and Stink are off on their pirate quest, racing against another brother-sister team (�tall boy� and �smart girl�). Readers will enjoy cheering on Judy and Stink while solving the puzzles along with them, and maybe inspired to create some of their own.
In The Holly Joliday, Stink has a short but not so simple Christmas wish list; he�s dreaming of a white Christmas. For many, the idea of Christmas without snow would seem odd, but Judy Moody and Stink live in Virginia where snow really would be a miracle. Judy Moody tells her little brother to give up on the idea, but when a new postman named Jack Frost turns up, it becomes impossible to convince Stink to put something a little more realistic, or at least something found in stores, on his Christmas list. His family does the best they can: when Stink�s asleep, they scatter handmade paper snowflakes everywhere, hoping he won�t be disappointed. They wake up to a Hawaiian-themed Christmas, and two special deliveries from Jack Frost and a Christmas no one will forget.
The third book, The Big Bad Blackout, has been previously reviewed in CM, but the glow-in-the-dark cover is not included in this three volume set.
Readers will have blast following Judy and Stink as they make their own adventures, whether it�s proving themselves worthy pirate opponents, making the nearly impossible happen at Christmas, or keeping busy while the power�s out. Numerous full-colour, full-page illustrations add to the stories, often portraying Judy and Stink at their silliest. Judy and Stink�s adventures will surely inspire readers to create some of their own.
Highly Recommended.
Crystal Sutherland is a MEd (Literacy) and MLIS graduate living in Halifax, NS.
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