Megan McDonald is the author of the awardwinning JUDY MOODY, JUDY MOODY GETS FAMOUS!, JUDY MOODY SAVES THE WORLD!, JUDY MOODY PREDICTS THE FUTURE, and JUDY MOODY, M.D.: THE DOCTOR IS IN! She says, Judy is already an independent thinker, and so it was natural that she would write her own Declaration of Independence -- declaring independence from brushing her hair, little brothers, and bedtime. When writing JUDY MOODY DECLARES INDEPENDENCE, I walked the Freedom Trail with my editor one snappy-cold October day and filled myself up with Revolutionary history. And guess what? There really is a musical toilet! No lie!

Peter H. Reynolds is the illustrator of all six Judy Moody books. He says, My work with children in the past twenty years has very much been around the theme of self-determination. JUDY MOODY DECLARES INDEPENDENCE is about exactly that -- learning how to think for oneself. This newest Judy-jaunt is a tribute to the independent spirits we hope to inspire, and her antics are sure to get readers in a mood to celebrate original thinking. I love Judy's feisty and creative spirit. She and her friends are like family to me now.