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Reading Rockets offers a wealth of reading strategies, lessons, and activities designed to help young children learn how to read and read better. Our reading resources assist parents, teachers, and other educators in working with struggling readers who require additional help in reading fundamentals and comprehension skills development.

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A video interview with

Megan McDonald

Megan McDonald

As the youngest of five sisters, Megan McDonald could hardly get in a word edgewise at the dinner table. As a result, she began to stutter sometime during elementary school. That's when Megan's mother bought her a notebook so that she could at least get her words onto paper. Little did Megan's older sisters know, this quiet observer would one day become a famous author whose words would be translated into multiple languages. Moreover, many of the anecdotes that appear in the Judy Moody books are actually based on real incidents — like the time Megan scared one her sisters by hiding a fake hand in the toilet.

Click on the links below‡ to watch this interview online. You can also read the interview transcript or a short biography of Megan McDonald, or see a selected list of her children's books.

View online

  • Judy and Stink (2:41)

    In this video clip, Megan McDonald discusses her two most popular characters.

  • The hand in the toilet (2:08)

    Megan McDonald retells one the best practical jokes that she ever played on her sisters.

  • Book thief (1:13)

    Megan McDonald loves literature so much that she once chased a book thief down the street.

  • Moods happen (2:27)

    Children's fascination with changing moods inspired Megan McDonald to create a character who wasn't always in a good mood.

  • The Holly Jolliday (1:46)

    In this Christmas book, Judy and Stink appear in full-color for the first time.

  • Hanja Humorek (1:59)

    Watch this video clip to find out how Judy Moody is translated into different languages.

  • Satisfaction for struggling readers (1:47)

    Find out why the Judy Moody and Stink books have turned out to be popular with struggling readers.

  • Writing advice (:50)

    According to this author, if you want to become a better writer, you need to read a lot.

‡ This video clip will appear in Windows Media Player, which most computers already have installed, or you can download it now. Macintosh users can download the free Flip4Mac playback file, which allows you to play Windows Media files in your Quicktime player.

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