Stacey the Math Whiz is the 105th book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.
Back Cover Summary[]
Stacey knows she's talented at math. But is she good enough to be the state math champion? The head of the SMS math team thinks so. She asks Stacey to join.
Math team? Just the thought of it gives Stacey the shivers. What if she doesn't know all the answers? What if the Mathletes are a bunch of losers?
The whole school is counting on Stacey. And once she starts competing, she's going to be in it to win.
Main Plot[]
Joining the Mathletes and feeling confident after her first math meet triumph, Stacey is troubled when her father gets tickets to a huge rock concert on the same night of the Mathletes championship.
Subplot[]
Stacey was tutoring Lindsay DeWitt in math. After joining Mathletes, she no longer has time for tutoring. Claudia reluctantly takes over for Stacey as Lindsay’s tutor.
Characters[]
Stacey's Family
BSC Members
Kids
- Buddy, Suzi, and Marnie Barret
- Lindsay, Taylor, Madeleine, and Ryan DeWitt
- Jordan, Adam, Byron, Vanessa, Nicky, Margo, and Claire Pike
- Charlotte Johanssen
- Matt and Haley Braddock
- Bruce Cominsky
- Sophie McCann - student that has a booth at the math fair
Teenagers
- Irv Hirsch
- Jason Fox
- Alexander Kurtzman
- Emily Bernstein
- Gordon Brown
- Mari Drabek
- Bea Foster
- Amanda Martin - student on the SMS mathletes
- Rick Chow
- Alan Bardwell - student on the Howard Township matheletes team
- Grace Blume (mentioned)
- George Singh - student who ties with Stacey with top scores
Adults
- Mr. Zizmore
- Ms. Hartley - chairperson of the math department at SMS
- Mrs. Braddock (mentioned)
- Natalie DeWitt
- Franklin DeWitt
- Reverty Schmidt - chairperson of the math department at Stoneybrook Day
- Samantha Young
- Ms. Crandell - chairperson of the math department at Chatham Middle School
- Ms. Kolinsky - teacher's aid at SMS
- Mr. and Dr. Johanssen
Locations[]
- Stoneybrook Middle School
- Rosebud Café (mentioned)
- McGill House
- Kishi House
- Mercer Middle School
- Stoneybrook Day School
- Chatham Middle School (mentioned)
- Johanssen House
- Eastbury Middle School
- Renwick's
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- Babe
- Winona Ryder
- Pollyanna
- Ferrari
- Bugs Bunny
- Elmer Fudd
- Yosemite Sam
- On Top of Old Smokey
- Wheel of Fortune
- The SATs
- Hans Christen Anderson
- Sony Discman
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- Stacey remembers being caught at the U4Me concert with alcohol in Stacey and the Bad Girls on page 92.
- Stacey notes that her mother is a bad driver which she first notes in Baby-sitters' Island Adventure on page 112.
- Stacey’s dad is downsized (fired). In BSC 28, he says that his job has been on shaky territory since he was first transferred to Stoneybrook.
Inconsistencies
- It's mentioned in this book that Ed McGill went to NYU, but in Stacey's Big Crush she mentions he went to Wesleyan University. However, he could’ve gone to Wesleyan for a degree, and to NYU for law school.
- Abby claims she can’t be Lindsey’s tutor because of the transportation issue (she lives about three miles away from Claudia’s neighbourhood). But in other books, Abby says that being fit is important to her. And it’s even said that she occasionally walks to Claudia’s for meetings instead of riding over with Kristy.
- Stacey says Anna has scoliosis and Abby doesn’t. Technically Abby does have scoliosis, but her curve isn’t severe enough to need treatment.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
Unlike Stacey and the other kids in the Mathletes, I was never a good math student. Math was difficult for me, I had to work hard at it to get even passing grades, and several times I had to be tutored in order to keep up with my classmates. When I graduated from college, I was thrilled because I thought I would never have to work another math problem again. I was wrong. I find that I use math almost every day, especially when I’m sewing, one of my favorite pastimes. Sewing involves a lot of measuring, figuring, and refiguring. I keep a calculator on my sewing table, and it helps, but there are some things you can only figure out with your brain. So as much as I hated math when I was in school, now I find that I really do need it — and all that hard work paid off.
Trivia[]
- Irv Hirsh is in Abby's science class.
- Stacey has the highest standardized math test scores in the district.
- Edward loses his job when his company downsizes but finds another by the end of the book.
- Stacey doesn't know any kids at Kelsey Middle School.
- The is the first time Chatham (a town near Stoneybrook) has been brought up since Mary Anne Saves the Day.
- SMS's mathletes goes to finals.
- Stoneybrook Elementary School hosts a math fair.
- Byron Pike has a coin collection
- Stacey has English with Grace Blume.
- Bea Foster comes down with strep throat.
- Stacey is tied for number one in the state for high math scores