Sometimes I think I am Judy Moody, says Megan McDonald, author of the Judy Moody series, the Stink series, and THE SISTERS CLUB. Im certainly moody, like she is. Judy has a strong voice and always speaks up for herself. I like that.

For Megan McDonald, being able to speak up for herself wasnt always easy. She grew up as the youngest of five sisters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father, an ironworker, was known to his coworkers as Little Johnny the Storyteller. Every evening at dinner the McDonalds would gather to talk and tell stories, but Megan McDonald was barely able to get a word in edgewise. Im told I began to stutter, she says, leading her mother to give her a notebook so she could start writing things down.


Critically acclaimed, the Judy Moody books have won numerous awards, ranging from a PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Book of the Year to an International Reading Association Childrens Choice. Judy has taken on a life of her own, the author notes, with nearly 3 million Judy Moody books in print. Interestingly, the feisty third-grader is highly popular with boys and girls, making for a strong base of fans who are among Megan McDonalds strongest incentives to keep writing, along with too many ideas and a little chocolate. And now -- by popular demand -- Judy Moodys little brother, Stink, gets his chance to star in his own adventures! Beginning with STINK: THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING KID, three more stories, and his own encyclopedia, STINK-O-PEDIA, Stinks special style comes through loud and strong -- enhanced by a series of comic strips, drawn by Stink himself, which are sprinkled throughout the first book. About the need for a book all about Stink, Megan McDonald says, Once, while I was visiting a class full of Judy Moody readers, the kids, many with spiked hair à la Judys little brother, chanted, Stink! Stink! Stink! Stink! Stink! as I entered the room. In that moment, I knew that Stink had to have a book all his own.


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