Sunny-Side Up

The Kids of the Polk Street School #11

by Patricia Reilly Giff, Blanche Sims (Illustrator)

Summertime. It's hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. Richard "Beast" Best and Matthew Jackson can't wait to dive into Emily Arrow's cool blue pool. But when they get there, Mrs. Arrow tells them that Emily has gone off to summer school.



Summer school! How could they forget? That's exactly where they should be right now. Sitting in class, Beast still thinks summertime is the best time, and he and Matthew can always go swimming in the afternoon. But then Matthew gives Beast some bad news. It's up to Beast to think of a way to help Matthew fast--before the summer is ruined.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Patricia Reilly Giff was the author of many beloved books for children, including the Kids of the Polk Street School books, the Friends and Amigos books, and the Polka Dot Private Eye books. Several of her novels for older readers have been chosen as ALA-ALSC Notable Books and ALA-YALSA Best Books for Young Adults. They include The Gift of the Pirate Queen; All the Way Home; Water Street; Nory Ryan's Song, a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Honor Book for Fiction; and the Newbery Honor Books Lily's Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods. Lily's Crossing was also chosen as a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book.

Reviews

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's strange how poignant this was to me. I read a handful of these Polk Street Kid books as a kid -- I'm thinking eight or nine-year-old, though I don't really know that. I really have almost no memory of when I picked these things up. I was always a badass reader (as far back as I can recall, schools clocked me in at "12th grade reading level"), so I may have read this at a younger age. It's certainly simple. But this little story is all about making memories and yearning for that which you have lost.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remembered that this was the first book that ever made me cry when I was a kid. I am rereading this series with my daughter and it made me cry all over again. Love the kids of the Polk Street School!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

$0.10 at a library sale scored me this gem from my childhood. I loooooved the Polk Street School kids. this was fun.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: It's summer vacation and school's out but Richard, Matthew and a handful of other kids have summer school. Richard is depressed. Mrs. Paris, his reading teacher gives him good advice on how to handle changes and things he doesn't like. Then Richard's friend Matthew says that he is moving to Ohio. Matthew doesn't want to go and Richard fixes up a place for Matthew to live in his garage.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars -- This 11th of the series was bittersweet for me. It is July, and the Polk Street School kids are trying to enjoy summer, despite the heat and summer school. That is the crux of the plot. Sadly, a main character moves away during the course of the story. And sadly, the kids are even meaner in this one than they have been before. The author must have known some doozy kids!

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok

[Indiana Cano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all the books from these series as a kid and I could not get enough of them! Great memories!!

[WSL Library]

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