Judy Moody Around the World in 8 1/2 Days by Megan McDonald Page B

But, well, I mean, what if you met somebody and they were just like you? And you didn’t feel special anymore?”
    “At least I’d have a new best friend,” said Dad.
    Hmmm. Judy thought about that one. Best friend? Or best enemy?
    The next day, Best-Enemy Girl Reporter came up to Judy at recess. “Hi! Remember me?”
    “Check,” said Judy, frowning.

    “You do remember! Your name’s Judy. Right? What’s your last name? I want to put your chew-gum-in-school idea in my paper.”
    Judy perked up. “Moody. Judy Moody.”
    “Judy Moody? For real? Hey, you rhyme! Just like me!”
    “Same-same,” said Judy excitedly.
    “So, do kids always try to rhyme stuff around you? Like ‘Amy Namey, how’s Jamie? Want to play a game-y? You’re so lame-y.’ Stuff like that?”
    “I’ve heard ‘Howdy Doody, Judy Moody’ and ‘Judy Moody has cooties’ about ten hundred million times!”
    “Exactly! That’s so cool we both have the rhyming name thing. You could be in my club.”
    “I’m already in a club. The Toad Pee Club. With my friends.”
    “But this is a real club. It’s not just for anybody. It’s for people all over the world with names that rhyme. It’s called the My-Name-Is-a-Poem Club.”
    “For real?” asked Judy.
    “How real is this?” Amy reached into her pocket and pulled out a card. A way-official, real-and-true membership card.

    “RARE!” said Judy. “You mean I could be a member? Of a club that has people in it from all over the whole world?”
    “Sure! I can sign you up!”
    “You mean I’d get a card like this? A real membership card with my name on it and everything?”
    “Check!” said Amy.
    “Wow,” said Judy. “How come I never knew about you before?”
    “Oh, I’ve been around,” said Amy. “Around the world!” She cracked up.
    “What stuff do you do in your club?” Judy asked.
    “Mostly you just carry this card around. But you can write to anybody in the club. And sometimes they write back and send you a postcard. With a cool stamp from another country and everything.”
    “Whoa!”
    “I know! I get postcards from people around the world, like, let’s see . . . Nancy Clancy, Newton Hooton, and Sing Ling. Even Mark Clark van Ark from Newark! That’s in this country. In New Jersey.”
    “No way!”
    “Uh-huh. I even got one from somebody named Heebie Jeebie.”
    “That gives me the heebie-jeebies.”
    “I think that one was a joke, for sure. But my favorite is the one I got from Chip Dippe.”
    “Like potato chips and dip?”
    “Exactly.” Judy and Amy cracked up.
    “I want to do it!” said Judy. “I want to be in the club!”
    “Great!” said Amy. “Why don’t you come over to my house Saturday morning? I’ll get you a membership card and everything.”
    “I’ll ask. Do I have to pay any money?” Judy asked.
    “Nope. It’s a freebie,” said Amy.
    “So I won’t have to get the heebie-jeebies,” said Judy.
    “Nopey-dopey!” said Amy.
    “Okey-dokey!” said Judy. They fell on the ground laughing.
    Amy Namey sure was smart. And funny. And important-looking in her glasses, with two watches, and a pencil behind her ear.
    AND her name rhymed. AND she was a member of a way-cool, around-the-world club. AND she knew a top-secret scoop from Mr. Todd.
    Amy Namey had all the things that made a New Best Enemy into a New Best Friend.

The next day before going to school, Judy rummaged through her top drawer, looking for her old purple watch. It still worked! She wore it right next to her new red striped one.
    She looked around for a clipboard, but she couldn’t find one. So she stuck a Grouchy pencil behind her ear and went to school.
    “There’s a pencil in your hair,” said Rocky.
    “I know,” Judy said. “Amy Namey says I can help her with her newspaper. A good reporter should have a pencil ready at all times.”
    “How come you’re wearing two watches?” asked Frank.
    “The better to tell time with,” said Judy in a