Class 3T waited with Ms. Tuxedo on the sidewalk in front of the school. Mr. Todd drove up in his Mini.
“Where are we going?” some kids asked.
“Field trip!”
“No way are we all going to fit in there,” said Rocky.
Mr. Todd hopped out. “We’re staying right here,” he said. “Let’s start by using Judy’s chain to figure out one car length.” In no time, he had Class 3T unwinding Judy’s finger-knitting chain. They measured and multiplied and made notes.
“Mr. Todd,” said Judy. “Can we yarn bomb your Mini?”
“Excuse me?” said Mr. Todd.
“Yarn bomb?” said Ms. Tuxedo.
“It’s a real thing,” said Judy. “You wrap something like a tree or a car or a flagpole in knitting. It’s way cool. And it’s art!”
“I see,” said Ms. Tuxedo.
Mr. Todd studied his car. He studied the big ball of yarn. “Here’s an idea. How about if we wrap the chain around the car, and estimate how many times it might go around?”
“Yippee!” yelled the third-graders. Around and around they went, wrapping Mr. Todd’s car in all the colors of the rainbow. They went around one time, five times, ten times, a hundred, singing the one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater song the whole time. Ms. Tuxedo knew words to the song that Judy had never heard.
They wrapped the yarn around Mr. Todd’s car one hundred and fifty-one and a half times until the car was a crazy quilt of colors.
The kids in Class 3T were math magicians. They measured the chain once around Mr. Todd’s car: thirty-five feet! They multiplied that by the number of times it went around the car. They figured out that Judy’s finger-knitting chain was 5,302½ feet long. As in over one mile long. As in 63,630 inches to be exact! As in 2,651 steps. As in 20,150 licks!
Judy stood back to admire their work of art. One thing was for sure and absolute positive — Judy’s moods brought color to the world. Greens for energetic moods, yellows for sunshiny stay-away-from-Antarctica moods, blues for calm moods, and purples for royal on-top-of-spaghetti moods.
By the time they had finished, Judy’s hair was wild and woolly. She did not look like Jessica same-same Finch. She looked like a Human Yarn Bomb — covered in flecks of fuzzy yarn from head to toe.
But she sure felt a lot smarter than she had a week ago. Not just math smarts. Mood smarts. If ever Judy felt a world-record bad mood coming on, she knew just what to do. She, Judy Moody, could finger knit away the blues.
“This is a work of art,” said Ms. Tuxedo, snapping a picture of Class 3T with their creation.
“Ms. Tuxedo,” said Judy. “You know how we can have a class picture do-over? Do you think I could get mine taken with the Purple People Eater?”
“I don’t see why not.” She winked at Judy. “Class 3T,” she said, “I have to say this is the most creative math I’ve seen in all my years as principal of Virginia Dare School.”
“Let’s give ourselves a POTB!” Mr. Todd said. Class 3T gave themselves a big Pat On The Back.
Amy Namey’s class came outside to have a look. They oohed and aahed.
“Only Judy Moody could finger knit a chain of yarn a mile long!” said Rocky. “That’s sixteen whole football fields!”
“Only Judy Moody could make math this fun,” said Frank.
“Only Judy Moody,” agreed Amy. Jessica Finch nodded. Everybody whooped and clapped and woo-hooed for Judy.
She sat down on the curb. It sure felt good to be the regular, all-moods Judy Moody again. Her friends huddled around her. “Sorry we thought you were an alien,” said Frank.
“I didn’t think she was an alien,” said Jessica Finch.
“Did too,” said Frank and Amy.
“Not so fast,” said Rocky. “Are we one-hundred-percent for sure she’s not an alien?” Rocky whispered to the others, then turned to Judy. “Name one thing Judy Moody likes to collect,” he said to her.
“ABC gum,” said Judy.
“Too easy,” said Amy. “When is Judy’s birthday?”
“April first. April Fools’ Day!”
“Who is the president of the United States?” asked Frank.
“How’s knowing that going to prove I’m the real Judy?” asked Judy.
“What was the wackiest, best Judy Moody idea ever?” Rocky asked.
“Making the Purple People Eater?” Judy said.
“Let’s vote,” said Rocky. “Who thinks she’s the real Judy Moody?” Four hands shot up in the air. “Will the real Judy Moody please stand up!”
The not-so-moody Judy stood up. She stood next to Class 3T’s work of math art. Her face was a mile of smile. She was happy as Larry. Happy as a hermit crab. Happy as a clam and an exclamation point!
One by one, Frank handed her the stuff she had dropped in the hall earlier that morning — the Yardstick of Bubble Gum box, her Women of Science ruler, three guinea pig erasers, and one Grouchy pencil.
“Welcome back,” said Frank.
Beep, beep, boo bop bop, walla walla Washington!
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2014 by Megan McDonald
Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Peter H. Reynolds
Judy Moody font copyright © 2003 by Peter H. Reynolds
Judy Moody®. Judy Moody is a registered trademark of Candlewick Press, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First electronic edition 2014
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2013953453
ISBN 978-0-7636-6698-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-7636-7541-7 (electronic)
The illustrations were done in watercolor, tea, and ink.
Candlewick Press
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Somerville, Massachusetts 02144
visit us at www.candlewick.com
Megan McDonald, Judy Moody, Mood Martian
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