Judy Moody's Mini-Mysteries

by Megan McDonald

  Those poor piggies, she thought when she came to the front door of the pet store. She was about to open the door when she stopped. She stared at the brass number 6 nailed to the front of the store. She reread her notes. That’s when it hit her.

  “Mrs. Birdwistle, Mrs. Birdwistle! I know where the guinea-pig food is!”

  Turn the page to solve the mystery!

  Judy realizes that the box of food must be among the mess at Roscoe’s Flower Shop. When she arrived at the flower shop, Roscoe had been fixing the brass number on his front door. The wind must have caused the number on the shop to flip upside down, changing the number nine into a number six, the same address as Fur & Fangs. The food was not stolen — it was delivered by the substitute postman to the wrong address. Among the boxes and mess, Roscoe didn’t realize that the box was in his store!

  But I can’t draw! you might think. Don’t worry; this is easy-peasier than you think! Once you boil things down, you’ll be amazed at how many facts you can capture on paper.

  HOW TALL WAS THE SUSPECT?

  If you’re not sure, try this:

  • Picture the person standing against a door.

  • Think about how high his or her head would be.

  • Draw a mark (in pencil!) on a doorway at the height you think your suspect was.

  • Measure the height of the mark. (The Women of Science Ruler does not lie!)

  Example:

  HOW OLD WAS THE SUSPECT?

  If you’re not good at guessing ages, consider these questions:

  • Is anyone you know about the same size as the suspect?

  • Did the suspect still have his baby teeth? If so, he’s probably under the age of eight.

  • Was the suspect missing a front tooth, or were his adult teeth growing in? If so, he’s probably between the ages of eight and ten.

  • Did the suspect have pimples on his face? If yes, he’s probably older than fourteen.

  • Did the suspect have a beard or mustache? He’s probably older than seventeen.

  Example:

  What other things about the person’s mouth can the witness remember?

  • Straight or crooked teeth?

  • Braces or retainer?

  • Sparkling white or discolored teeth?

  • A small or wide mouth?

  Example:

  WHAT DID THE SUSPECT’S HAIR LOOK LIKE?

  • Did the suspect have some white or gray hair? Chances are good he or she is a grown-up over the age of thirty.

  • Did the suspect have a full head of white or gray hair? He or she is probably over the age of fifty.

  • Was the person bald or balding?

  • Was the person’s hair dyed?

  • Was the person’s hair straight, wavy, or curly?

  • Did the person wear his or her hair in a ponytail? Did he or she have bangs?

  • Was his or her hair parted?

  Example:

  WHAT WAS THE SUSPECT’S SKIN COLOR?

  Rather than just “white,” “black,” or “brown,” try comparing the suspect’s skin color to something concrete.

  • Did it remind you of coffee with cream, honey, the skin of a peach?

  • Did he or she have freckles?

  • Were there any noticeable marks on the skin: tattoos, birthmarks, scars, moles?

  Example:

  WHAT DID THE SUSPECT’S EYES LOOK LIKE?

  • What color were the eyes?

  • Was the person wearing glasses? Were the frames wire or plastic? What color? Were the lenses clear or tinted?

  • Was the suspect wearing an eye patch?

  Example:

  WHAT ABOUT THE SUSPECT’S CLOTHING?

  Pants:

  • Shorts or long pants?

  • Denim or some other material?

  • Belt? Unusually large or shaped buckle?

  Shirt:

  • Long-sleeved, short-sleeved, or tank top?

  • Button-down, polo, or T-shirt?

  • One or more colors?

  • Any writing or design on the shirt?

  Shoes:

  • Sneakers or dress shoes? Laces or Velcro?

  Accessories:

  • Was the suspect wearing a hat, watch, jewelry, or any other accessory that you remember?

  Example:

  The more you remember and the more you note, the more likely you are to narrow down your suspects.

  Even if you find someone who seems a perfect match, assume that person is innocent! Time to start asking questions and making notes in your notebook.

  Hint: Start by questioning Stink!

  Spelling test day! “Class 3T, please take out your pencils,” said Mr. Todd. He passed around sheets of paper.

  Jessica Finch was first to take out her pencil, of course. She was ready to get a 100 percent on the test. Or even 110 percent if there were bonus points! Frank took his pencil out of his pocket. Judy rustled through piles of papers and folders and notebooks. At last, she spotted her pencil on the floor. “Ready,” Judy said to nobody.

  “The first spelling word today is detective,” said Mr. Todd.

  Detective! Judy knew that word. For sure and absolute positive.

  Rocky’s hand shot up like a rocket. “Mr. Todd, I can’t find my pencil anywhere. I think somebody stole it!”

  The kids in Class 3T looked at one another with squinty eyes. A real-life pencil heist!

  “I’m sure you just forgot where you put it,” said Mr. Todd.

  “But it’s the one pencil that I’ve been using all year,” said Rocky. “I wanted to use the same pencil every single day. I was going to break the Virginia Dare School record! And now it’s gone. I think somebody wanted my famous pencil.”

  “Who would want your pencil?” Frank asked.

  “A pencil thief. That’s who.”

  “Let’s examine the facts,” said Mr. Todd.

  “Like detectives!” said Judy.

  “What did your pencil look like?” asked Mr. Todd.

  “It said JUST CANDY SWEET SHOP on it. It came from my all-time favorite candy shop.”

  “It must be around here somewhere,” said Mr. Todd. “Pencils can’t just get up and walk out of the classroom.” Judy cracked up. Mr. Todd continued. “Frank, did you maybe pick up the wrong pencil by accident?”

  “Nope,” said Frank. “This is my I G♥ BASEBALL pencil. I got it at a baseball game last summer.”

  “I don’t have it either,” said Jessica. “The only pencil I have is Oinkerina.” She held up a pinker-than-pink pencil with pictures of pigs doing ballet on it. “When you twirl it, the piggy ballerina eraser looks like she’s dancing. See?”

  “That’s quite pig-tacular,” said Mr. Todd.

  “What about Judy?” asked Frank. “Maybe she has Rocky’s pencil.”

  Judy made a face at Frank. “No chance, Lance!” she said. “I thought I lost my pencil, but I found it on the floor. It’s a Name Your Pencil pencil. I sent away special to a catalog for a twelve pack. They all say JUDY’S on them. I’ve already used up four!”

  “Amy, how about the pencil you’re holding?” asked Mr. Todd.

  “It’s my new cupcake pencil. When you scratch-and-sniff it, it smells like cupcakes. Why would I want Rocky’s super-stubby old pencil?”

  “Hmm,” thought Mr. Todd. “Class, how many days of school have we had so far?”

  Judy looked at the countdown calendar on the wall. “Ninety-three!” she called out.

  “That’s right,” said Mr. Todd. “So Rocky’s pencil has gotten a lot of use. Rocky, how many times a day would you say you sharpen your pencil?”

  “Um, at least three,” Rocky said. “Sometimes more when it’s a spelling test day or you give us extra word problems.”

  “I think I may know who our pencil thief is,” said Mr. Todd, “but they didn’t steal it.”

  Turn the page to solve the mystery!

  Mr. Todd knew that Rocky’s pencil had the name of the Ju
st Candy Sweet Shop on it, and that it had been sharpened many times. He also knew that the pencil was old and that some of the letters could have easily rubbed off.

  Rocky’s JUST CANDY SWEET SHOP pencil had been changed to:

  Judy saw the pencil on the ground and accidentally picked it up, thinking it was hers.

  Sometimes Judy Drewdy needs to pass along secret messages to Agent Dills Pickle, Agent Spuds Houdini, or even Agent James Madagascar. How do you get past super snoops and prying eyes? Secret codes, of course! Try cracking some of the top-secret codes below. Then try making up some of your own!

  COLOR CODE

  In this code, the only words that matter are the ones that come directly AFTER a color. Of course, only you and your friend know that, so the note will look like gibberish if anyone else sees it.

  Can you decipher this note from Judy to Rocky and Frank?

  ZIGZAG CODE

  To decipher a zigzag code, read the letters in the first column from top to bottom, then go to the next column and read from top to bottom. Try deciphering these coded messages from Judy to Stink.

  TELEPHONE CODE

  To understand this code, look at how the letters are arranged on a telephone:

  First, cross out the Q and the Z. Then, use the numbers on the phone buttons to indicate the letters you want to use. Since there are three letters for each number, indicate which of the three letters by using a “-” for the number on the left, a “0” for the number in the middle, and a “+” for the number on the right. So, the letter A would be written as 2-.

  If you wanted to write “Hello” to a friend, you’d write:

  Can you decode this message from Judy to Mom and Dad?

  P.S. Don’t let your little “bother” get his mitts on your secret codebook!

  BOOK CODE

  Use the words in a favorite book to send messages to a friend! For each word in a book code, you’ll see three numbers. The first number indicates the number of the page on which the word appears. The second number tells you the number of the line in which the word appears. And the third number tells you the word’s position in the line, counting from left to right.

  For example, let’s say you want to tell your friend where a secret note is hidden. Using Around the World in 81/2 Days, your friend will find the note hidden in the:

  Click here for the answers.

  Judy doodled on the cover of her Social Studies book. “Can anyone tell me what an artifact is?” Mr. Todd asked Class 3T.

  “Is it like a fact . . . about art?” Judy asked.

  “Not quite,” said Mr. Todd.

  “I know,” said Jessica Finch. “It’s an old thing, right, Mr. Todd?”

  “That’s true, it is something old. An artifact is an object that can tell us something about the past. It can be very old, like a tool used by cave dwellers. It can be something more recent too, like a letter your mother wrote, or even a toy you played with when you were a baby.”

  “So, Stink’s baby belly button that he keeps in a jar is an artifact?” Judy asked.

  “Yes, because it’s an object that helps tell the story of Stink’s past,” said Mr. Todd. “Your homework tonight is to look around your house and find an artifact. Ask your parents for help. There may be old artifacts in your house you don’t even know about. We’ll share them with the class tomorrow.”

  “I know what artifact I’m going to bring,” Rocky said later at lunch. “My grandfather rode across Europe on a bicycle when he was a teenager. And he kept a diary about it.”

  “Cool,” said Frank. “I’m going to bring a doll that belonged to my mom’s aunt. It’s over fifty years old!”

  “My mom and dad have a spoon made by THE Paul Revere himself,” said Judy. “I’m going to ask if I can bring that.”

  “Wow!” said Rocky and Frank. “That’s waaay old.”

  Jessica Finch said, “I’m going to bring in an artifact older than any of yours. Way better than some old spoon.”

  The next day, Class 3T gathered in a circle to share their artifacts. Rocky showed his grandfather’s journal, Frank showed his great-aunt’s doll, and Judy showed her Paul Revere spoon.

  “My mom doesn’t let me eat with this spoon, though,” Judy said. “She says it’s just for looking at since it’s so old. Paul Revere made it at his silversmith shop in 1757.”

  “That’s quite an old artifact,” said Mr. Todd. “Thanks very much for sharing it with us. Jessica, would you like to show the class what you brought?”

  “I’d love to. My artifact is way older than Judy’s or anybody’s. It’s an invitation from the pilgrims to the Native Americans inviting them to the very first Thanksgiving.” Jessica held up a piece of wrinkly paper that was yellowed around the edges and had cursive writing on it. She read the letter aloud:

  “Neato! A real letter from 1621!” Frank said.

  “Awesome!” said Rocky. The class buzzed with chatter.

  Judy raised her hand. “Yes, Judy?” asked Mr. Todd.

  “That letter isn’t older than my spoon,” Judy said.

  “Yes it is,” said Jessica. “Way older — more than one hundred and thirty years older!”

  “I don’t think so,” Judy said. “It’s not even a real artifact. It’s a big fat fake. And I can prove it.”

  Turn the page to solve the mystery!

  The first clue that the letter was forged was the date. November only has thirty days, so there was no way the letter could have been written on November 31.

  The other clue was that the letter mentions the “first Thanksgiving.” At the time, the Pilgrims couldn’t have known that the meal would become a tradition, and so they wouldn’t have called it “first.” In fact, Thanksgiving was not declared a national holiday until more than 200 years later in 1863 by President Lincoln.

  Holy macaroni! Is there a murderer among your friends? At your sleepover? At your birthday party? In the Toad Pee Club?

  You be the detective! Sleuth out the murderer as quick as a wink in the game Wink, Wink, Murder!

  Want to play? Here’s how:

  You’ll need a group of five or six friends and a deck of cards. Form a circle. You will need as many cards as you have people. Make sure the cards contain the Ace of Spades (Murderer) and Queen of Hearts (Detective).

  • Take turns being dealer. The dealer shuffles the cards and passes them out facedown.

  • Look at your card secretly. Do not let anybody see who is the Murderer.

  • The player who gets the Queen of Hearts holds it up for all to see. He or she is the Detective and will sit in the middle of the circle.

  • The job of the Murderer is to bump off as many players as possible without getting caught. To do this, the murderer must wink at someone in the circle without being spotted by the detective.

  • One by one, as players are bumped off, they must dramatically fall back and pretend to die.

  • Give the detective at least three chances to catch the criminal.

  Judy was in a back-to-nature mood. A get-muddy, cook-s’mores-over-a-fire, sleep-under-the-stars mood. The Moody family was going camping for the weekend. She, Judy Moody, was ready to be one with the wild.

  The Moodys pitched a tent at their campsite. Stink pitched a fit about mosquitoes. Mom laid out food for lunch.

  “Mmm, burgers!” Judy said.

  “The meat has to defrost,” Mom said. “Why don’t we go for a nature walk?”

  Judy, Stink, Mom, and Dad headed to the ranger station.

  “Howdy! I’m Ranger Jill,” said the ranger. “I’ll be leading our walk in the woods. Are you ready to learn about some of the flora and fauna of the area?”

  “Floor-y and yawn-a?” Judy let out a yawn.

  “Flora and fauna,” said Ranger Jill. “It means plants and animals.”

  Animals! Judy perked up.

  “Before we go into the woods, here are nature notebooks for everyone. They describe some of the animals that make these woods their home. The
re’s space in the back for you to record your own sightings.”

  “Rare!” said Judy. She opened the notebook. Photos of a fox, a deer, and a woodpecker stared back at her.

  Ranger Jill led the campers down a trail. “In the back of your notebooks, you’ll find a chart of common animal tracks. See if you can find some of them on our walk. Tracks can tell you a lot about an animal: how fast they were going, whether they were with other animals, and where they were headed.”

  Judy looked at the chart. She looked down at the ground. She saw lots and lots of flora. But not one single fauna. And no fauna tracks.

  The group kept walking. Judy spotted a not-flying squirrel (bor-ing) and an ant (double-boring).

  “Look for snapped-off twigs,” said Ranger Jill. “And you might find deer hoofprints. Deer eat only plants. They like to nibble on leaves and twigs.”

  Snap! Snap! The only snapped-off twigs Judy saw were the ones made by Stink.

  “What if we see a dead skunk?” asked Stink. “Does that mean a bear was here?”

  “Maybe,” said Ranger Jill. “Bears do eat some small mammals.”

  “If we see a dead skunk, the only tracks will be mine,” said Judy, holding her nose. “Running away.”