Stacy Had a Little Sister (A Concept Book) [Hardcover]

Wendie Old (Author), Christy Grant (Editor), Judith Friedman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: A Concept Book

Stacy has mixed feelings about her new sister Ashley, but when the baby dies of sudden infant death syndrome, Stacy is sad and misses her.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3-When Stacy's baby sister is a victim of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, her parents are faced with explaining the tragedy to her. The story does a competent job of anticipating the fears and concerns of a young child and of providing comfort and reassurance. Particularly well presented are the themes of jealousy upon the infant's arrival and feelings of guilt in the aftermath of her death. The watercolor illustrations are serviceable and help to convey the family's emotions. A note to parents gives some facts about SIDS and an address to write to for more information. Very few titles, if any, are available on this topic for children, so this bibliotherapeutic offering will fill a need.
Judy Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4-7. Young Stacy has mixed emotions about the birth of her new sister, Ashley. While Stacy misses the attention her parents formerly devoted to her, she is anxious for Ashley to grow so they can play together. When the baby dies unexpectedly, a victim of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), Stacy worries that somehow she may be responsible or that SIDS may be contagious. Finally, her grieving parents manage to assure her that she neither caused nor is in danger of contracting the mysterious illness. Old has done a commendable job of portraying the wide range of emotions encountered by young families experiencing both the birth and death of a child. Friedman's soft pastel illustrations mesh nicely with the text, conveying the anguish of the loss. A natural choice for the parenting shelf, this may also be useful for therapists working with children involved in similar situations. Kay Weisman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807575984
• ISBN-13: 978-0807575987
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,081,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wendie Old began writing in high school but didn't get books published until the early 1990s. They immediately collected awards. Her series of middle school biographies each were honored with the NCSS/CBC Notable Book award from Social Studies teachers. TO FLY, THE STORY OF THE WRIGHT BROTHERS, Clarion 2002, a book for elementary school readers, won many awards -- one from all the teacher groups (except the Math teachers), Boston Globe - Horn Book Honor Book, ALA Notable Children's Book 2003, and was on many state reading lists.

She enjoys being a children's librarian in a public library. When she discovered the lack of information about Groundhog Day -- she wrote a book about that. (See if the groundhog near you is mentioned in that book. Most of them are.)

She writes picture books as well. Her first published picture book, Stacy Had a Little Sister, is still being used as bibliotherapy with children who have had siblings die of S.I.D.S.

Her other picture books were published under the pen name -- C.W. Bowie. She and two friends wrote them together and then combined their names to come up with C.W. Bowie. She's the "W" part of the name.

Her blog at wendieold.blogspot.com is called Wendie's Wanderings and it does exactly that. It rambles on about the writing life, happenings at her library (September is Spider Month, yikes!), book reviews, her grandchildren, and her many adventures while traveling and promoting her books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My 6 Year Old Checked This Book out of the Library 4x, January 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Stacy Had a Little Sister (A Concept Book) (Hardcover)

Each library visit, my daughter, Imani(age 6), finds this book and insists I read it to her. So, today I ordered it for her birthday. I think Imani loves the book for a number of reasons: 1) Understanding a glimpse of mortality and the notion that a baby could die is right at my 6 year old's emotional growing edge. These subjects are rare to find in a children's book. 2) The author delicately talks about the emotions of guilt and grief, and paints very real pictures of mommy, daddy, and Stacy struggling with them. I believe my daughter is attracted to these real pictures of parents suffering, because she has witnessed some raw moments of parents struggling lovingly with deep sadness. For example, "Things changed at home after the funeral. Mommy cried a lot. Sometimes Daddy did, too. Mommy yelled at Daddy. Daddy almost stopped talking to anyone, even Stacy. And Stacy wondered...." The parents in this book are not sitcom soundbytes of parental perfection or dysfunction. Hurray! 3) I think my daughter picked out the book initially because it is pink and has a picture of a family with a baby, parents, and sad little girl on the front. It is a "pretty" book, with good color and illustrations. 4) The book defines Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: SIDS. SIDS is a disease the children can pronounce and understand. It's not over their heads, and an excellent beginning introduction to disease and death. As a member of the clergy, I am familiar with grief counseling; I would recommend this book for any child dealing with the grieving process. It walks through the funeral without opening the door to religious belief. I like the way the story draws to a close: with parents listening, and offering a loving embrace, and finding a special photograph for Stacey to keep by her bed. There isn't a hint of brushing away the sadness with a false sense of security. It ends, "And Stacy knew she would always remember her special little sister, Ashley."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching story, March 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Stacy Had a Little Sister (A Concept Book) (Hardcover)

This is a story about a little girl named Stacy and her family. Stacy is excited for the birth of her new baby sister Ashley. However she has mixed feelings when the baby starts getting more attention from Stacy's parents then she is. Soon Stacy realizes that she wants to be a good sister and she cannot wait until little Ashley gets old enough to really play with. Sadly one morning Stacy wakes up to a crying. When Stacy goes into her parents' room she is told that Ashley had died that night from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Her parents try to comfort her when she thinks that she may have been responsible for her little sisters death or that SIDS is contagious.
I believe that the author did such a wonderful job in telling a story of a common occurrence with babies, as well as helping children to understand SIDS with a little description in the back of the book. The pictures and the story are just so touching that it would be so easily explained to a young child what Sudden Infant Death Syndrome actually is. If any child has ever lost a brother or a sister to SIDS the author does a great job of explaining that it is not their fault no matter how they felt about the baby.
I loved this book mainly because of the story. I was so sad when I read this book and then I thought of all the little kids and parents could really appreciate this book if they had lost a sibling to SIDS. I have never experienced a loss like Stacy and her family but after reading this book I have a little bit more of an understanding and sympathy.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Stacy had a Little Sister, March 6, 2002

By 

Ashley Cahill - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stacy Had a Little Sister (A Concept Book) (Hardcover)

This is a book about a family and it is based on the little girl of the family, Stacy. Her mom has a new baby and Stacy is jealous of her little sister. She wants all the attention from her parent's back. Eventually she decides that she wants to be a good big sister and wants to start playing with her baby sister. She realizes that her parents haven't forgotten all about her after all. One morning she wakes up to crying and she knows it's not her sister crying. She going into her parents room to see them crying. Her baby sitter had died during the night of sudden infant death syndrome. Everyone missed the baby so much including Stacy.
I liked this book cause it really told how little kids act like when they do get a new sibling. They do tend to be jealous and feel left out because the baby gets all the attention. I also like this story because it has a different twist to it. It is tragic the baby dies but it does happen and I think that it is good to have books to explain to little kids about things like this. It had great, very realistic pictures that really followed a long with the story.
I think the author was trying to get across the point that things like this happen but in a way children can understand it. I don't think children should be blocked off from bad things that could happen to anyone and this story really seems to get that point across. It also seems to say something about cherishing the time you have with someone because you never know when he or she might not just be there.