The Truth about Stacey (2006)

Yeah, yeah. It's the Baby-Sitter's Club. But this time it's adapted into comics by Raina Telgemeier, and really, nostalgia doesn't get any better than this.

Unless you were the type to not read junky series fiction when you were a 10-year-old girl. ( )

The Babysitters Club: The Truth About Stacey (graphic novel) by Ann M. Martin and Raina Telgemeier
Stacey moved to Stoneybrook from New York City. She didn’t mind leaving, because she had a falling out with her best friend after Stacey became sick which turned out to be diabetes. Now a part of the Baby-sitters Club, she gets lots of babysitting jobs, until the Baby-sitting Agency turns up! The BSA has older babysitters who can stay out later and have more members. However, it turns out, that just because they’re older doesn’t mean that they are better babysitters. The parents find this out and take their loyalties back to the Baby-Sitters Club. While visiting a doctor in New York City, Stacey ends up making up with her old best friend as well.

The graphic novel format version of this book is fun! The comic style pictures show the characters’ styles, personalities, and emotions. I remember reading these books as a child, and I don’t feel like any of the story was taken away by being made into a comic book. I think this book would help capture the attention of students who may have trouble seeing the pictures in their head. ( )

Stacey has a secret. She doesn't want her three best friends to find out that she is diabetic. At her past school, her medical condition has caused her to loose friends. When her new friends asked her to be apart of the Babysitter's Club, she was so happy. She worked hard to fit in, but because of her condition, she was different. While at school, Stacey collapses and went to the hospital. Did her friends find her secret out then? Read this book to find out.

Girls will love this book that teaches them it is okay to be different. Your friends like you for who you are.

This book would be good for the whole class to show it is okay for everyone to be different. Before the book begins, the students will begin a journal and predict what her secret is. Then, once the book is over, the students will draw a picture of their favorite scheme and explain why it was their favorite scheme. Then, the students will write a paragraph explaining why it is good for everyone to be different.

This is an adaptation of the original story, which I have not read. I found this book to be easy to read, enjoyable, with a problem to solve and a solution at the end. The girls in the book have to overcome a rival babysitting service while Stacey has to come to terms with her diabetes diagnoses. For some high school girls this story may be a little too young since the chracters are in junior high school but it certainly is age appropriate for junior high students. The title is a little misleading or maybe enticing, because as the reader I am thinking, "Oh, what is the truth?" but it turns out that Stacey has diabetes and moves to a small town in Connecticut from New York City. The plot didn't seem forced, the graphic novel format flowed really well, was easy to read and follow. ( )

This book was a lot of fun to read because it stayed so close to the original Baby-Sitter's Club books I remembered reading when I was younger. And many of the scenes were drawn by Telgemeier as I pictured those scenes when I first read The Truth About Stacey almost 17 years ago. ( )