Judy Moody Gets Famous!

Judy Moody Gets Famous! is a middle-grade children’s novel written by Megan McDonald and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Originally published in 2001, the title is the second in a series of 12 books. There is a spinoff series about Judy’s brother—Stink. The Judy Moody series is part of the early 2000s middle-grade novel era in which humor and illustration became staples of the genre. Judy Moody Gets Famous! sees the protagonist experiencing Envy as Both a Flaw and a Motivator while learning the power of Success through Kindness. Judy Moody displays Persistence and the Art of Standing Up Again as she refuses to give up on her goal of becoming famous.

This guide utilizes the 2010 Candlewick Press, Inc. edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

Judy Moody is in third grade, and one of her classmates, Jessica Finch, comes to school wearing a tiara. Judy pretends that she doesn’t like it but feels envious of Jessica. Jessica brags that she won a spelling bee and was in the local paper, and Judy decides that she wants to become famous, too. She tries to become an expert speller but quickly finds it isn’t for her. The next day, Judy’s younger brother, Stink, creates a Moody Hall of Fame on the family refrigerator, posting his best moments for everyone to see. Judy wants to share but can’t find anything worth posting. She becomes convinced that she needs to do something grand.

In class, Judy gets in trouble for talking out of turn during language arts. She finds enjoys examining mealworms in science class. Judy gets too excited while answering questions and accidentally flings her mealworm onto Jessica. Jessica gets in trouble, but Judy confesses the truth after school. She wonders whether her fame will always be negative.

The Moody family holds a garage sale, and Judy tries to trick people into believing she has a 200-year-old cherry pit from George Washington’s cherry tree. One of the neighborhood boys swallows it, foiling Judy’s plan. Judy then enters her cat into a pet contest, and while she does win second place, only her elbow is captured in the newspaper photo. She calls on her friends to help her get famous, and they try making a human centipede by tying their shoelaces together. The attempt doesn’t go well, and Judy ends up stepping on her friend Frank’s finger, which breaks.

At the hospital, Judy and Stink go to the playroom while Frank is being treated. There, they meet a girl named Laura who uses a wheelchair due to a recent heart transplant. Laura notes that the dolls in the playroom are all dirty and broken, and Judy decides to take them home to fix them. She and Stink work to clean the dolls, dress them in hospital gowns, and add accessories like bandages and a cast. They even create a doll that looks just like Laura, complete with a scar on her chest. Judy anonymously mails the dolls back to the hospital.

A few days later, Judy is invited to Jessica’s house and decides it will be a great opportunity to try making another cast. They use newspaper to make paper mâché, and Judy notices a headline about a phantom doll doctor. She rushes home and sees the article on the fridge and her parents’ smiling faces. Judy reads the article and finds that the hospital and Laura appreciated her efforts to fix the dolls. She decides to continue her secret toy repair operation and enjoy the feeling of helping others instead of seeking fame.