Stacy Says Goodbye

Like the other books in the Polk Street School series, this one puts the main character through challenges in life that are typically experienced by elementary school students. Everyone probably dealt with substitute teachers, cruel comments from classmates, and fashion mishaps at some point in their elementary school career. Stacy Arrow, the main character of this story, must deal with all three of these issues. The substitute teacher in this book is a long-term sub who must take over for Mrs. Zachary due to a childbearing leave of absence. Many youngsters have a teacher who will leave at some point during the school year for the same reason in their own lives. This book is an excellent choice for classes who are about to gain a long-term substitute. Of all the books in the "New Kids" subset of the Polk Street School series, this is my personal favorite. (I read it in first grade and liked it so much I put it at the top of my Christmas list that year). While Stacy (the central character of all six "New Kids" books) grows as a person throughout the series, personal growth is especially evident in this book, which is the final "New Kids" book. The book is written in a clear manner geared at young readers and is probably best-suited for students in second grade (although this would be a good read-aloud for first graders or as an independent reading book for above-average first graders). The characters are easy to relate to and while the main characters are female, there are a few males in the book as well. Unfortunately, Stacy Says Goodbye appears to be out of print. The reason for this is unclear, as the other five "New Kids" books still appear to be on the market. Used copies are few and far between although many public libraries and school libraries will have a copy of this wonderful book on their shelves. A teacher's guide appears to still be available from Patricia Reilly Giff's website but the book itself has been out of print for about a decade. Purchase any copies of this book that may still be on a bookstore shelf somewhere, as it is a timeless story that will continue to teach its lessons for years to come. I should also mention that Patricia Reilly Giff books in general are tough to find these days. Many of them are still in print and several had their covers redesigned in recent years, although bookstores do not seem to stock them anymore. They were seemingly everywhere in the 1980s and 1990s (I actually bought one at an airport in 1993) but are becoming lost to today's children. This is a shame, as Giff's books had themes that apply to children of all generations and tackle problems that have persisted in elementary school life for decades.