Peter H. Reynolds

A "dreamer maximus" describes the many ways one can dream, and the importance of being a happy dreamer.

"When a young boy begins to play on his family's piano, reveling in the fun of plunking the keys, his father signs him up for lessons so that he can learn to play properly. With his father's encouragement, Raj learns notes, then scales, then songs, and finally classical pieces that his father can recognize and be proud of. But the more Raj practices and the more skilled he becomes, the less he enjoys playing, until he grows up and stops playing altogether....

A class visit to the Gross-Me-Out exhibit at the science museum inspires Stink Moody to create a variety of terrible smells to put on the sneakers he plans to enter in the World's Worst Super-Stinky Sneaker contest.

"The lucky penny in Judy Moody's pocket sure does seem to be working. She can't stop winning -- at bowling, spelling, the unbeatable Prize Claw, everything! For sure and absolute positive, she'll ride that wave of good fortune all the way to Washington, D.C." --

Yikes! Stink Moody, family brain brings home a report card that isn't perfect? Time for Chopzilla to get (his thumbs) into fighting shape and beat back that U for Unsatisfactory he got in gym class. Ka-POW!

When it is "Backward Day," Judy must turn her usual sour mood upside down and be happy and nice for a change.

As Hurricane Elmer hits, Judy, Stink, and the entire Moody clan hunker down and ride out the storm, but when the power goes out, Grandma Lou proposes some activities to pass the time in the dark.

When her substitute teacher realizes she is struggling in math, Judy is sent to a math tutor at the local college and soon is completely into the spirit of college life.

"Roar! It's not bad enough that Mom and Dad are heading to California, leaving Judy and Stink with Aunt Awful (er, Opal), but now two of Judy's friends are going Splitsville, too. Just when it looks like her summer is going to be BOR-ing- eureka! -- Judycomes up with the most thrill-a-delic plan ever. Get ready for a race involving tightrope walking, Scream Monster riding, and way more! Add in a treasure hunt for Judy's teacher, a midnight stakeout,...

It's no secret that Judy wants to be like Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor, when she grows up. So when class 3T starts to study the Amazing Human Body, Judy can hardly wait to begin her better-than-best-ever third-grade projects: show and tell with something way rarer than a scab, a real-live, ooey-gooey operation, and a cloning experiment that may create double trouble for Judy and her friends.