Spurred by a newfound awareness of false advertising, Stink Moody becomes the proverbial kid in a candy store as his letter-writing campaign yields him heaps of free rewards.

When Stink buys a mammoth jawbreaker that doesn't break his jaw, he writes a letter of complaint to the manufacturer — and receives a ten-pound box of 21,280 jawbreakers for his trouble! This unexpected benefit of acing the art of letter-writing in school sure gets Stink thinking. Soon Stink is so preoccupied with getting free stuff sent to him that he overlooks a scribbly envelope in the mail pile — until his best friend, Webster, starts acting standoffish and looks as mad as a hornet.

In this hilarious episode from Megan McDonald and Peter H. Reynolds, Judy Moody's shorter sibling truly comes into his own. As a delightful bonus for both teachers and kids, thirty-six common idioms — from "two heads are better than one" to "a leopard can’t change its spots" — are sprinkled throughout the story; seven of the idioms are humorously illustrated by Stink, and all are listed at the end to inspire a search for idioms that’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

Reviews

McDonald has perfectly pegged elementary school, second-graders and the dynamics of family life. . . . These tales of the Moody family will hit the spot for beginning chapter book readers.
—Chicago Sun-Times

Like big sister Judy Moody, Stink sports a memorable name and a talent for self-expression. His predicaments and triumphs have a childlike air, and the quick-witted dialogue will keep readers entertained.
—Booklist

Stink, Judy Moody’s little brother is back in the second installment in his own series. . . . Reynolds’s familiar illustrations keep the mood light, even when Judy and Stink argue, which they do. Constantly.
—Kirkus Reviews

Clever and zany . . . A hilarious read-aloud.
—School Library Journal

Excerpt

Every day, Stink ate a little more and a little more of his jawbreaker. He ate it in bed first thing in the morning before he brushed his teeth. He ate it at recess in between playing H-O-R-S-E with his super-duper best friend, Webster. He ate it on the bus and all the way home from school.

He gave a lick to Mouse the cat. He gave a lick to Toady the toad. He even tried giving a lick to Jaws the Venus flytrap.

Stink's jawbreaker went from super-galactic to just plain galactic. From golf-ball size to Super-Ball size.

"Are you still eating that thing?" asked Judy. Stink stuck out his tongue.

"Well, you look like a skink," said Judy. She pointed to his blue tongue.

Shloop! went Stink.

Stink ate his not-super-galactic jawbreaker for one whole week. He ate it when it tasted like chalk. He ate it when it tasted like grapefruit. He ate it through the fiery core to the sweet, sugary center. He ate it down to a marble. A teeny-tiny pea.

Then, in one single bite, one not-jaw-breaking crunch, it was G-O-N-E, gone.

Stink was down in the dumps. He moped around the house for one whole day and a night. He stomped up the stairs. He stomped down. He drew comics. Ka-POW! He did not play with Toady once. He did not do his homework. He went outside and bounced Judy's basketball 117 times.

"Somebody got up on the WRONG side of the bed," said Judy. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were in a MOOD."

"I can have moods too, you know." Stink kept counting. "One hundred eighteen, one hundred nineteen . . ."

"Is it because your jawbreaker's all gone?" asked Judy.

"It's because that jawbreaker lied. They should call it World's Biggest UN-jawbreaker. I ate and ate that thing for one whole week, and it did not break my jaw. Not once. It didn't even make my mouth one teeny-weeny bit bigger.

________

STINK AND THE INCREDIBLE SUPER-GALACTIC JAWBREAKER by Megan McDonald, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Text copyright (c) 2006 by Megan McDonald. Published by Candlewick Press, Inc., Cambridge, MA

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