series books | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Monster Kid Request: Move Over, Judy Moody!

If you are a children’s librarian, or a school librarian, or anyone who works with upper elementary aged kids, you are probably familiar with Judy Moody. Judy Moody is one of the less annoying protagonists that appear in series books targeted to girls. She isn’t concerned with looks or popularity, she wants to be a doctor, and her concerns go beyond the superficial. I find her annoying anyway. She rolls her eyes and says “boring” a lot, and she’s not very nice to her younger brother, who she’s nicknamed Stink.

But Stink is now coming into his own. He has his own series of books, with witty cartoons (supposedly drawn by him) and fun stories that even manage to sneak in a little learning. These books are aimed at kids who are a little younger, and my kids, who are 4 and 6, will sit and listen to me read a Stink book for over an hour. I can’t say I like everything about the books, but they are enjoyable and funny without having nearly as much name calling or gross humor as some other books aimed at kids this age.

What’s really interesting to me, though, is that the Stink Moody website has zoomed in on one particular book (that I haven’t read) and created a whole event kit around the theme. The book is Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk and the event is… wait for it… Reading Is Undead. The kit even ties in last summer’s movie, Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, which, in addition to Stink’s extensive hunt for the elusive Bigfoot (which resulted in some pretty fun movie tie-in books that we do own, due to the Monster Kid’s obsession with Bigfoot and other cryptids) also has a fairly memorable zombie scene. Now, the Monster Kid is not allowed to watch zombie movies, and we try to tone the whole zombie thing down here, but there it is- another kid his age who gets into monsters, at probably the most age appropriate and non-gory way possible (yes, you may laugh at me now).

I think Stink and his friends could appeal to both girls and boys, especially because of the Judy Moody connection (the series is very popular) but, given how many books are already in the series and how many themes they address, I think it’s crazy fun that Candlewick Press is promoting reading, and the Stink Moody books, with cryptids and zombies. There are so many ways to get kids to read using this promotion, I encourage you to check it out, as well as the other Stink Moody books and resources, available here.

What Happened Next?

I just read Stuart Little to my five year old. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s a book about a child who has the looks and size of a mouse, born into a normal family. Naturally there are many struggles in life when you are mouselike, and you see the world a little differently. Stuart’s family rescues a wounded bird, Margalo, who becomes his friend, but in the middle of the night, Margalo disappears without a word. Stuart decides to go on a journey and attempt to find Margalo. You’re probably wondering what this has to do with horror fiction. Here’s the thing- and I didn’t remember this- after many adventures, Stuart drives off. And that’s the story. “What happened next”? my son asked. Well, we don’t know. Did Stuart ever find Margalo? Did he ever go home? We can only imagine. E.B. White never wrote a sequel, although my son is convinced the sequel, “Stuart and Margalo”, is out there somewhere. After all, there are at least three Stuart Little movies.

There aren’t too many books that end this way anymore- books that end with the reader asking “Wait, what happened next”? These days if you have that question after you’ve turned the last page, you can be pretty sure there’s a sequel out there, especially in the YA market.

Do you prefer for your books to come in series, where you know a sequel will deal with the loose ends? Or do you get frustrated that everything seems to come in series that never end? What do you think about books that leave you with uncertainty at the end?