Megan McDonald facts for kids

Megan Jo McDonald is a well-known American author who writes books for kids. She is famous for her fun series about a third-grade girl named Judy Moody. Megan McDonald has also written many picture books for younger children and the Julie Albright series for American Girl.

Life and Career

Megan McDonald was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is the youngest of five sisters. Her own family inspired her book The Sisters Club. She went to Oberlin College and earned a degree in 1981. Later, she got another degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1985.

Megan McDonald started her career as a children's librarian. She worked at libraries in Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, and Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Her very first book, Is This a House for Hermit Crab?, came about because kids at the library loved a story she told them. They kept asking where they could find it!

Megan McDonald is married to Richard Haynes. They live in Sebastopol, California.

Published Works

The Judy Moody and Stink Series

The Judy Moody books tell the funny stories of an eight-year-old girl named Judy. She has lots of adventures! There's also a spin-off series about her younger brother, whose nickname is Stink. All of Megan McDonald's Judy Moody and Stink books have cool drawings by Peter H. Reynolds.

Main Characters:

• Judy Moody
• Stink Moody
• Rocky Zang
• Frank Pearl
• Jessica Finch
• Amy Namey
• Mr. Todd

Judy Moody Books:

• Judy Moody (Candlewick Press, 2000)
• Judy Moody Gets Famous! (Candlewick Press, 2001)
• Judy Moody Saves the World! (Candlewick Press, 2002)
• Judy Moody Predicts the Future (Candlewick Press, 2003)
• Judy Moody, M.D. The Doctor Is In (Candlewick Press, 2004)
• Judy Moody Declares Independence (Candlewick Press, 2005)
• Judy Moody: Around the World in 8½ Days (Candlewick Press, 2006)
• Judy Moody Goes to College (Candlewick Press, 2008)
• Judy Moody: Girl Detective (Candlewick Press, 2010)
• Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (Candlewick Press, 2011)
• Judy Moody and the Bad Luck Charm (Candlewick Press, 2012)
• Judy Moody: Mood Martian (Candlewick Press, 2014)
• Judy Moody and the Bucket List (Candlewick Press, 2016)
• Judy Moody and the Royal Tea Party (Candlewick Press, 2017)
• Judy Moody Book Quiz Whiz (Candlewick Press, 2018)

Judy Moody and Stink Books:

• Judy Moody & Stink: The Holly Joliday (Candlewick Press, 2008)
• Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt (Candlewick Press, 2009)
• Judy Moody & Stink: The Big Bad Blackout (Candlewick Press, 2014)
• Judy Moody & Stink: The Wishbone Wish (Candlewick Press, 2015)

Stink Books:

• Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid (Candlewick Press, 2005)
• Stink: and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker (Candlewick Press, 2006)
• Stink: and the World's Worst Super-Stinky Sneakers (Candlewick Press, 2007)
• Stink: and the Great Guinea Pig Express (Candlewick Press, 2008)
• Stink: Solar System Superhero (Candlewick Press, 2009)
• Stink: and the Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Smackdown (Candlewick Press, 2011)
• Stink: and the Midnight Zombie Walk (Candlewick Press, 2012)
• Stink: and the Freaky Frog Freakout (Candlewick Press, 2013)
• Stink: and the Shark Sleepover (Candlewick Press, 2014)
• Stink Moody in Master of Disaster (Candlewick Press, 2015)

Other Novels

• The Bridge to Nowhere (Orchard, 1993)
• Shadows in the Glasshouse (Pleasant Company, 2000)
• The Sisters Club (American Girl, 2003)
• All the Stars in the Sky: The Santa Fe Trail Diary of Florrie Mack Ryder (Dear America series, Scholastic, 2003)

The Sisters Club Series

• The Sisters Club (2008)
• The Rule of Three (2010)
• Cloudy with a Chance of Boys (2011)

American Girl Titles

• Meet Julie
• Julie Tells Her Story
• Happy New Year, Julie!
• Julie and the Eagles
• Julie's Journey
• Changes for Julie
• A Brighter Tomorrow: My Journey with Julie
• Pen Pals (American Girl Magazine)
• The Gnome Diaries

Films

Megan McDonald's book, Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, was made into a movie. The film came out in 2011. John Schultz directed it, and Jordana Beatty played Judy Moody. Megan McDonald helped write the movie's script too!

Awards

Megan McDonald has won several awards for her books:

• 1991: Children's Choice Book for Is This a House for Hermit Crab?
• 1991: Reading Rainbow book selection for Is This a House for Hermit Crab?
• 1993: Judy Blume Contemporary Fiction Award for The Bridge to Nowhere
• 1993: Carolyn W. Field Award for The Great Pumpkin Switch
• 2003: Garden State Children's Book Award for Judy Moody
• 2014: California Book Awards Juvenile Finalist for Shoe Dog