Fourth Grade Celebrity

Casey, Tracy & Company #1

by Patricia Reilly Giff, Leslie H. Morrill (Illustrator )

Tired of being compared with her popular older sister, Casey decides she will make herself over.

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

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

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars -- I love the stories of Patricia Reilly Giff. This particular one presents a slice of life of fourth-grader Cassandra (Casey) Eleanor Valentine. During this school year, Casey is determined to become a celebrity so that her sixth-grader older sister, Vanessa (Van), will not always be the more popular of the two of them. Casey plans to 1) Become class president. 2) Rescue something or someone from a burning building. 3) Do something different, unusual, like speaking French. 4) Become an athlete. Do 100 pull-ups on W.M.'s bar in garage (neighbor Walter). 5) Get name in paper. How she manages or does not manage to do these things has sometimes hilarious and sometimes cringy results. Despite Casey's spunk and ingenuity, the ditto machine and the cafeteria lady (Betty), among other things, make this story a bit outdated for today's reader. Those events do not even include her trespassing a couple of times and the mild language, that would not pass elementary muster in today's world. What a pain in the A.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short and entertaining story about a young girl in the fourth grade who wants to have some fame and get out from under the shadow of her 'perfect' sister.

The story is humorous in parts and really shows the emotional angst of a fourth grader. I had hoped that my own fourth grader would want to read it, but she said that she read the first 50 pages and didn't like it. Oh well.

[piglover · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book for younger kids

[Susan Katz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Casey is an entertaining character, and the book has many humorous moments. The way Casey finally becomes a celebrity is appropriate and satisfying.

[Shannon H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book! You learn not to lie. But, it is funny!

[Anastasia Tuckness · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book as a kid--I read it a bunch of times--and I read it last night and I still think it's a great funny book.

I would recommend it to kids who like fast reads about real kids.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tired of being compared with her popular older sister, Casey decides she will make herself over.

[Charly Troff (JustaReadingMama) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book in middle school! This is the perfect read for a middle school girl looking for a fun, easy read.

[DougWa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm an adult but I wept with laughter over this one. Eleven on a scale of ten! Bravo, Ms. Giff!

[Cws]

JAR4-Gif