Judy Moody Was in a Mood. Not a Good Mood. A Bad Mood.

Judy’s Band-Aids are a symbol of her unique identity and passions. Judy is the only character in the book who collects Band-Aids, and they connect to her interest in medicine and her desire to be a doctor when she grows up. Judy’s purchases of Band-Aids help her earn her Hedda-Gets-Betta doll, an exciting milestone, as Judy feels her doll is her first “patient.” When Hedda-Gets-Betta has chicken pox, Judy uses her Band-Aids to cover her patients’ sores and help her heal.

Judy’s Band-Aids and her interest in becoming a doctor separate her from her brother, Stink, and her friends, Rocky and Frank, who have other interests. However, Judy does not keep her interests to herself but uses them to make positive connections with others. For example, she shares her Band-Aid collection and passion for medicine in her Me Collage: “Judy explained about Elizabeth Blackwell, First Woman Doctor, and then gave a demonstration of her doctor skills. She put Rocky’s arm in a sling and wrapped bandages around Frank’s knee. She pulled out her pretend blood, and used Hedda-Get-Betta to show how to apply Band-Aids” (89). This sparks her classmates’ curiosity, and soon she is sharing her Band-Aids with all of them: “Before Judy knew it, everybody in the whole class was wearing Tattoo Band-Aids” (90).