Look Out, Washington D.C.

The Kids of the Polk Street School Specials #6

by Patricia Reilly Giff

The Polk Street kids run into plenty of surprises on a two-day class trip to the nation's capital and all its sites, complete with two maps and a children's guide to museums, monuments, and other Washington attractions. Original.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1995

About the author

Patricia Reilly Giff was an American author and educator whose warm, emotionally resonant books made her a beloved figure in children's literature. After spending roughly two decades as a teacher, she turned to writing and brought a deep understanding of young readers to stories that balanced humor, resilience, and emotional truth. Educated at Marymount Manhattan College, St. John's University, and Hofstra University, she drew on both her classroom experience and literary instincts to create memorable fiction for children and middle-grade readers. She became especially well known for the popular Polk Street School series, which captured the everyday dramas of school life with charm and empathy. Beyond those books, she wrote acclaimed novels such as Lily's Crossing, Nory Ryan's Song, Pictures of Hollis Woods, Eleven, and Genevieve's War, often exploring themes of belonging, family, hardship, and courage. Her work earned wide recognition, including Newbery Honors, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults designation, and a Christopher Award. Giff also influenced younger writers through her workshops and teaching spirit. Throughout her career, she remained a compassionate literary voice whose stories spoke directly to children's fears, hopes, and imaginations.

Reviews

[Ryan Rainey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "Look Out, Washington, D.C.!" by Patricia Reilly Giff was a very good book. The book was about a class that is taught by Ms. Rooney who is going to Washing D.C. There is a girl in the class named Emily Arrow who can hardly wait because she never been there and she can't wait to get away from her little sister Stacy. At first Emily has to sit by a girl on the train who she doen't like very much. Then she realizes she forgot to bring a diary like everyone else. Once they are in Washington D.C she gets paired up with someone who she doesnt want to be paired up with. As the trip goes on Emily realizes that she misses being home. She gets a gift for her little sister Stacy and even helps her partner that she didnt want to be paired with by getting him a gift.

This book was very well written. The genre of this book is realistic fiction. The setting of this story is set through the immediate social group.The story shows how much Emily's little sister gets on her nerves and also how the class is taking a field trip which helps lead to the setting of Washington, D.C. Emily is definatley a round character, because she goes through the change of becoming a better sister at the end of the book as well as a friend. The conflict of the story is between characters. The conflict is that Emily just doesn't seem to be able to get along with anyone. The introduction of this story is that the class is going to take a field trip. The rising action is that Stacy is bothing Emily, Emily is paired with someone she doesnt like, and Emily also has to sit next to someone she doesn't like on the train. The climax is when Emily starts getting along with her partner and he doens't get to do what he really wanted. The falling action is that Emily realizes how much she misses her family, she gets her sister a gift, and when she gets her partner a gift. The resolution is when Emily finally goes home. The theme of this story is that things may not be as bad as they seem, because Emily thought her family was horrible and couldn't wait to get away but she ended up missing them. The story is told in a third person point of view by a narrator. Emily resembles a really person because anyone can go through times when they dont like thier family, go on a trip, and go throught the things that she goes through. Children would believe the events happening in the story because most children have been to Washington, D.C and also most children go on field trips. The plot resolution is very believable because almost every children gets home sick when being away from thier parents.

I thought this book was very good. One thing that really struck me was how at the end of the story it was like an activity guide and showed a map of Washington D.C. I thought this would really help children visualize what happend in the book. I would use this as a teacher to help teach history and about historical places that are in Washington D.C. I could relate this book to my life because there are often times that my family gets on my nerves, but the minute I go away for a few days I being to miss them.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Special edition story in the Kids of the Polk Street School series by Patricia Reilly Giff and Blanche Sims.

We've only read a few of these books before, but I picked this one out specifically because it features Washington D.C., and I thought we might discover a few new places to go visit. The narrative is okay, but our girls were just not that engaged and it seemed like it took forever to finish the book.

The different locations featured were mainly ones that we'd seen before, and are the most popular attractions in the city. Still, we did learn about a couple of new places and we'll have to put them on our list of places to see.

Overall, I thought it was a good story, but I doubt that we'll pursue reading more of the books in this series. I think our girls have outgrown them.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this as a ten year old and I love it now as a quick joyful read as a 34 year old. If I want to tour DC I put on a special about DC and read this book. Perfect fix

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for kids. May be a little outdated, though. I haven't heard of a couple of the museums listed in the back.