Original Publication Date: 1991
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
The biannual baby parade is coming, and Kristy thinks it would be fun to enter Emily Michelle in. Jessi also thinks Squirt would have a good time, and the other girls mention various infants they sit for. Mrs. Prezzioso has also asked Kristy to help decorate baby Andrea's stroller for the parade. Kristy thinks entering all these babies would be too much work, and suggests that, with the exception of Andrea, the babies be entered together in the float division, rather than individually in the stroller division. The rest of the BSC agrees and the girls get to work...without communicating. This results in the babies' costumes clashing with the parade float and the sitters being embarrassed to be seen on it, which leads to a fight and very tense parade. They do survive, and make up later. Plus Andrea wins first place in the stroller division.
Far more interesting is the brief subplot, in which the sitters take an infant care class, at Mrs. Prezzioso's suggestion. She's doing a project at Jenny's school and needs more help watching both children for a month, and finds the class. I'd rather have read a book about that.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: M&Ms in her sock drawer, Yodels in her paint box, Doritos in her closet, Snickers under her pillow, Triscuits under her bed
Dawn's having won a baby pageant comes up.
Claudia's digital clock has white numbers.
Ah, this is the one. Jessi doesn't know what colic is. But in the eleventh Super Special she claims her most vivid memory is being able to calm Squirt when he was colicky.
Kristy's happy to see Mary Anne and Logan together, which is consistent with her reaction to the split they have later.
Mallory can sew.
Their Families:
Shannon (the dog) is still a puppy. Tigger's still a kitten, too. Just as the BSC stays in the same grade, I think the animals never grow up.
Sam and Charlie fish.
The Club:
Now that there's a new baby, the Prezziosos are no longer dressed to the nines (maybe sixes or so).
New client: the Salems, with twin babies Ricky and Rose.
SMS: nothing new
PSA time:
The babies on another float wear masks (they're dressed as animals)...probably not a good idea to put something over the nose and mouth of someone who doesn't have good motor skills yet. Use face paint.
Misc:
This is a pretty boring book. Good information in the part about the baby class, though: don't leave babies alone on changing tables, use the stove or a bottle warmer to heat up milk (i.e.; not a microwave), etc.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 19
Students (other than the BSC): 62; 39 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 25
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 50 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-4 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Richie Magnesi), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart), Jessi-1 (Quint Walter)
12/18/10
New York, New York! (SS#6)
Original Publication Date: 1991
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
What's this? Another two-week school vacation? Time for a trip, then! This time, it's New York City, to stay with Stacey's dad (Stacey, Claudia, and Dawn) and Laine (Mary Anne, Kristy, Mallory, and Jessi).
Claudia and Mallory take art lessons at the Fine Arts League of New York. Mallory enjoys it, learning a bit about art though ultimately deciding she prefers a different style of drawing and writing overall, but Claudia has a rough time of it. The teacher is harsh with Claudia but generous with praise when talking to Mallory. Of course, this is because Claudia has so much potential that the teacher wants to push to her to realize just how good she can be.
Kristy finds a stray dog. She hides him in Laine's apartment, thinking she'll be able to bring him home, but her mom and stepdad say no, so she has to find an owner for the dog before leaving New York. The dog ends up going to a nine-year-old boy who adores him.
Mary Anne does some of her walking guide book bit, which works well since she and Stacey end up babysitting some British children, Alistaire (whose name I can't read without thinking of Alastair Sim from the 1951 A Christmas Carol) and Rowena, and taking them around NYC sightseeing (including the World Trade Center; weird). Their parents on visiting for work (they're something like diplomats), and while Mary Anne and Stacey are watching the kids, they notice someone following them, and think someone's out to kidnap the children.
Just like when she visited in RS#18, Dawn is terrified of NYC. But she does eventually go into the city (she'd been hiding in Stacey's dad's apartment) after meeting one of Stacey's neighbors, Richie, who has a broken ankle but more importantly, loves NYC and shows Dawn that there are plenty of good things about it.
Jessi goes to a ballet at the Lincoln Center and meets a dancer a little older than she, Quint, who's good enough to audition for Juilliard but nervous because the other boys in his neighborhood tease him for dancing ballet. Jessi prompts him to try out anyway, and he gets in.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned
Mary Anne worries that when she says goodbye before going on a long trip it might be the last time she sees whoever she's leaving.
Jessi briefly gets to be the funny one again, instead of just the Black Ballerina caricature she's on her way to being.
It's too bad Claudia didn't continue keeping a diary after making one of the NYC trip, because it would have helped her spelling.
Their Families:
Stacey's dad is still a workaholic, but trying to curb that tendency.
The Pikes' computer does graphics. Ooh.
The Club: nothing new
SMS: on vacation
PSA time:
No! Brontosaurus is the head of an Apatosaurus on the body of a Camarasaurus! It was only created because Marsh and Cope got in a pissing contest over who could discover the most species of extinct animals and they got sloppy. Stop thinking it ever existed! If you really like the name Brontosaurus, because "thunder lizard" is a good name, look up Eobrontosaurus.
Misc:
This book was given as an eleventh birthday present to a Kirsten H. in 1991. Kirsten, happy most-likely-belated thirtieth birthday!
Stacey mentions cockroaches. Ugh. I'm so, so glad that I live in the Pacific Northwest, where roach species prefer wooded areas to house interiors.
Does the petting zoo still cost a dime? Stacey says it always will, but I can't find the information online.
Another question for you New Yorkers (I've only been the city once, for about two hours, so I don't know): when you take a cab with a baby or young child, do you put a carseat or booster seat in the cab?
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 19
Students (other than the BSC): 62; 39 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 48 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-4 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Richie Magnesi), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart), Jessi-1 (Quint Walter)
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
What's this? Another two-week school vacation? Time for a trip, then! This time, it's New York City, to stay with Stacey's dad (Stacey, Claudia, and Dawn) and Laine (Mary Anne, Kristy, Mallory, and Jessi).
Claudia and Mallory take art lessons at the Fine Arts League of New York. Mallory enjoys it, learning a bit about art though ultimately deciding she prefers a different style of drawing and writing overall, but Claudia has a rough time of it. The teacher is harsh with Claudia but generous with praise when talking to Mallory. Of course, this is because Claudia has so much potential that the teacher wants to push to her to realize just how good she can be.
Kristy finds a stray dog. She hides him in Laine's apartment, thinking she'll be able to bring him home, but her mom and stepdad say no, so she has to find an owner for the dog before leaving New York. The dog ends up going to a nine-year-old boy who adores him.
Mary Anne does some of her walking guide book bit, which works well since she and Stacey end up babysitting some British children, Alistaire (whose name I can't read without thinking of Alastair Sim from the 1951 A Christmas Carol) and Rowena, and taking them around NYC sightseeing (including the World Trade Center; weird). Their parents on visiting for work (they're something like diplomats), and while Mary Anne and Stacey are watching the kids, they notice someone following them, and think someone's out to kidnap the children.
Just like when she visited in RS#18, Dawn is terrified of NYC. But she does eventually go into the city (she'd been hiding in Stacey's dad's apartment) after meeting one of Stacey's neighbors, Richie, who has a broken ankle but more importantly, loves NYC and shows Dawn that there are plenty of good things about it.
Jessi goes to a ballet at the Lincoln Center and meets a dancer a little older than she, Quint, who's good enough to audition for Juilliard but nervous because the other boys in his neighborhood tease him for dancing ballet. Jessi prompts him to try out anyway, and he gets in.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned
Mary Anne worries that when she says goodbye before going on a long trip it might be the last time she sees whoever she's leaving.
Jessi briefly gets to be the funny one again, instead of just the Black Ballerina caricature she's on her way to being.
It's too bad Claudia didn't continue keeping a diary after making one of the NYC trip, because it would have helped her spelling.
Their Families:
Stacey's dad is still a workaholic, but trying to curb that tendency.
The Pikes' computer does graphics. Ooh.
The Club: nothing new
SMS: on vacation
PSA time:
No! Brontosaurus is the head of an Apatosaurus on the body of a Camarasaurus! It was only created because Marsh and Cope got in a pissing contest over who could discover the most species of extinct animals and they got sloppy. Stop thinking it ever existed! If you really like the name Brontosaurus, because "thunder lizard" is a good name, look up Eobrontosaurus.
Misc:
This book was given as an eleventh birthday present to a Kirsten H. in 1991. Kirsten, happy most-likely-belated thirtieth birthday!
Stacey mentions cockroaches. Ugh. I'm so, so glad that I live in the Pacific Northwest, where roach species prefer wooded areas to house interiors.
Does the petting zoo still cost a dime? Stacey says it always will, but I can't find the information online.
Another question for you New Yorkers (I've only been the city once, for about two hours, so I don't know): when you take a cab with a baby or young child, do you put a carseat or booster seat in the cab?
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 19
Students (other than the BSC): 62; 39 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 48 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-4 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Richie Magnesi), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart), Jessi-1 (Quint Walter)
12/9/10
Dawn and the Big Sleepover (RS#44)
Original Publication Date: 1991
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Stoneybrook Elementary School has started a pen pal program with a school on a New Mexico Zuni reservation. Dawn learns about while sitting for the Pikes, and wishes she could have a pen pal. When a fire destroys the New Mexico school, Dawn has a chance to help with the program in a different way.
She organizes a food and clothing drive and the whole BSC helps the elementary students with fundraisers. It all culminates in a sleepover at the SES gym, with pizza donated from the local pizza parlor, pancakes and juice courtesy of the grocer, and prizes from a toy store. The students then get to send off all they collected, which is met with gratitude and surprise in New Mexico. The principal there writes a very gracious thank you note and mentions that the students there are now working to raise money to further help themselves, and maybe sponsor a trip to visit Stoneybrook. Sadly, we never get to see that happen. But the kids have fun with the whole thing.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: dark-chocolate caramels under her pillow,
Those of you who have read Dawn Saves the Planet know how conceited Dawn got in that one. This book might shed some light on that. When Dawn mentions her idea to Kristy, Kristy starts off as if she's going to take over (but doesn't), which Dawn is internally irritated about, but decides the most important thing is that the Zunis get help. Later, she's recognized for her efforts. She must have been expecting something similar in the later book.
Still...Dawn is so judgmental in the books she narrates. There are all these parenthetical asides: (sometimes really bossy) (she said it took that long, but I think she was exaggerating) They're all over.
Their Families:
The Pike boys learned Op-Talk back in #40 (Claudia and the Middle School Mystery) precisely because Pig Latin is so well-known, but now they're acting like Pig Latin is their own special, secret language.
The Club:
Haley Braddock somewhat lets the cat out of the bag about the donations coming to New Mexico (it's supposed to be a surprise) under the guise of a fortune teller, and gives the return address as one care of Mary Anne. She doesn't tell anyone about it, and fibs that she just forget to mention it to Mary Anne. The only reason I bring it up is later Haley starts lying to try to get out difficult situations.
SMS:
SMS has the same school secretary still; good continuity.
8th grade students: Kristin Reinhardt, Jodi Reynolds, Nicole Rogers, Ray Stuckey
8th grade teachers: Mr. Blake (homeroom), Ms. Berner (math)
PSA time:
Speaking of thank you notes, be polite and write them. It encourages people to give you further gifts.
In general, it's best to give money to relief agencies like the Red Cross to help people. In-kind donations certainly have their place (for example, I often knit baby blankets to donate to a local crisis pregnancy center). But sending a check only costs a stamp, and not even that if you donate online, instead of the postage for large packages. Plus, a relief agency that's right in the area of the place needing help can use the money to buy things from local stores, supporting the local economy. If you're moved to donate an actual item, check with relief agencies to see what's needed. You don't want to overwhelm people who are recovering from a disaster with dozens and dozens of toys when they really need clean underwear.
Misc:
Vanessa's pen pal says her teacher is "an Anglo, like you." Mallory thinks that means a Caucasian, but I'm pretty sure it means someone from England. Granted, in a later Super Special we'll learn that the Pikes are at least part English, but when that comes right after the younger Pikes hearing that their pen pals are Native Americans, not Indians, it seems like that should have been mentioned, too. Then again, considering the pen pals are from New Mexico, it could have been worse. She didn't call Vanessa a gringo.
I organized my school's first blood drive, and had a local pizza place donate pizzas for the workers' lunch break. I think I might have gotten the idea for the pizza from this book.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 19
Students (other than the BSC): 62; 39 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 48 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Stoneybrook Elementary School has started a pen pal program with a school on a New Mexico Zuni reservation. Dawn learns about while sitting for the Pikes, and wishes she could have a pen pal. When a fire destroys the New Mexico school, Dawn has a chance to help with the program in a different way.
She organizes a food and clothing drive and the whole BSC helps the elementary students with fundraisers. It all culminates in a sleepover at the SES gym, with pizza donated from the local pizza parlor, pancakes and juice courtesy of the grocer, and prizes from a toy store. The students then get to send off all they collected, which is met with gratitude and surprise in New Mexico. The principal there writes a very gracious thank you note and mentions that the students there are now working to raise money to further help themselves, and maybe sponsor a trip to visit Stoneybrook. Sadly, we never get to see that happen. But the kids have fun with the whole thing.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: dark-chocolate caramels under her pillow,
Those of you who have read Dawn Saves the Planet know how conceited Dawn got in that one. This book might shed some light on that. When Dawn mentions her idea to Kristy, Kristy starts off as if she's going to take over (but doesn't), which Dawn is internally irritated about, but decides the most important thing is that the Zunis get help. Later, she's recognized for her efforts. She must have been expecting something similar in the later book.
Still...Dawn is so judgmental in the books she narrates. There are all these parenthetical asides: (sometimes really bossy) (she said it took that long, but I think she was exaggerating) They're all over.
Their Families:
The Pike boys learned Op-Talk back in #40 (Claudia and the Middle School Mystery) precisely because Pig Latin is so well-known, but now they're acting like Pig Latin is their own special, secret language.
The Club:
Haley Braddock somewhat lets the cat out of the bag about the donations coming to New Mexico (it's supposed to be a surprise) under the guise of a fortune teller, and gives the return address as one care of Mary Anne. She doesn't tell anyone about it, and fibs that she just forget to mention it to Mary Anne. The only reason I bring it up is later Haley starts lying to try to get out difficult situations.
SMS:
SMS has the same school secretary still; good continuity.
8th grade students: Kristin Reinhardt, Jodi Reynolds, Nicole Rogers, Ray Stuckey
8th grade teachers: Mr. Blake (homeroom), Ms. Berner (math)
PSA time:
Speaking of thank you notes, be polite and write them. It encourages people to give you further gifts.
In general, it's best to give money to relief agencies like the Red Cross to help people. In-kind donations certainly have their place (for example, I often knit baby blankets to donate to a local crisis pregnancy center). But sending a check only costs a stamp, and not even that if you donate online, instead of the postage for large packages. Plus, a relief agency that's right in the area of the place needing help can use the money to buy things from local stores, supporting the local economy. If you're moved to donate an actual item, check with relief agencies to see what's needed. You don't want to overwhelm people who are recovering from a disaster with dozens and dozens of toys when they really need clean underwear.
Misc:
Vanessa's pen pal says her teacher is "an Anglo, like you." Mallory thinks that means a Caucasian, but I'm pretty sure it means someone from England. Granted, in a later Super Special we'll learn that the Pikes are at least part English, but when that comes right after the younger Pikes hearing that their pen pals are Native Americans, not Indians, it seems like that should have been mentioned, too. Then again, considering the pen pals are from New Mexico, it could have been worse. She didn't call Vanessa a gringo.
I organized my school's first blood drive, and had a local pizza place donate pizzas for the workers' lunch break. I think I might have gotten the idea for the pizza from this book.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 19
Students (other than the BSC): 62; 39 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 48 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
12/2/10
Stacey's Emergency (RS#43)
Original Publication Date: 1991
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
Finally, all the foreshadowing (since book 30) about Stacey's not feeling well comes to fruition. Stacey's been intensely hungry and thirsty, and sneaking candy. It all comes to a head when she's visiting her father in New York and she ends up admitted to the hospital for two weeks. Of course, everyone's worried: Charlotte Johanssen becomes a hypochondriac, Laine visits almost every day, Stacey's mom comes to stay with Laine's family for the duration of Stacey's hospital stay, the older BSC members make a trip to New York to visit, the people back in Stoneybrook send cards, and so on.
To make matters worse, her parents have been using her as a go-between, rather than talking to each other like civilized human beings. Yes, they're divorced, but they should try harder to be polite to each other for their daughter's sake. They can't even hide their anger for each other while she's in the hospital. Stacey eventually has enough of this, and yells at them for their behavior. After she apologizes for the way she talked to them but not for what she needed to tell them, they agree to try to not put her in the middle. We'll see how well that goes.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: root beer barrels and M&Ms in her desk, Ring Dings in her dresser
Okay, I don't usually read too much into these books as far as sexuality goes, but even I had to raise my eyebrow at Stacey's description of her and Claudia: "[We] are pretty interested in boys (I've even been described as "boy-crazy"), and we like action!"
According to Stacey, Claudia has low self-esteem. It's nice of Stacey to be concerned about her friend.
Logan has continued to be an alternate sitter despite Mary Anne breaking it off with him.
Stacey's still taking French (though not doing well in it).
Stacey and Laine get along so well here. It's too bad that won't last.
Mary Anne still does catch-and-release with spiders.
Jessi mailed Stacey a letter. She's a self-described terrible letter-writer, so she must be working to change that.
Their Families:
Stacey's parents must have had a really bad divorce. Not only can they hardly stand to be in the same room as each other, they check up on each other through Stacey and can't talk civilly on the phone.
The Club: nothing new
SMS:
SMS has either a student store or a vending machine; Stacey was able to buy a chocolate bar there. It also has at least two stories.
Cokie Mason got a nose job. The BSC has a good laugh about that, but when the Pikes won't let Mallory get one, they're too strict.
8th grade student: Ross Brown
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Stacey briefly wonders about people dealing with more severe cases of diabetes before insulin injection was possible. Laura, Carrie, and Grace Ingalls all died due to complications from diabetes. Probably a good thing they only got candy at Christmas.
Stacey's right about not having privacy in the hospital. Even though I was healthy after my daughter was born, every time I fell asleep someone would come in to check my temperature or her hearing or to tell me I had a visitor. (By the way, please check with a nurse or someone before visiting a patient in the hospital, regardless of the reason for being admitted. It's just polite, like calling before visiting someone at home.)
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 17
Students (other than the BSC): 58; 35 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 47 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
Finally, all the foreshadowing (since book 30) about Stacey's not feeling well comes to fruition. Stacey's been intensely hungry and thirsty, and sneaking candy. It all comes to a head when she's visiting her father in New York and she ends up admitted to the hospital for two weeks. Of course, everyone's worried: Charlotte Johanssen becomes a hypochondriac, Laine visits almost every day, Stacey's mom comes to stay with Laine's family for the duration of Stacey's hospital stay, the older BSC members make a trip to New York to visit, the people back in Stoneybrook send cards, and so on.
To make matters worse, her parents have been using her as a go-between, rather than talking to each other like civilized human beings. Yes, they're divorced, but they should try harder to be polite to each other for their daughter's sake. They can't even hide their anger for each other while she's in the hospital. Stacey eventually has enough of this, and yells at them for their behavior. After she apologizes for the way she talked to them but not for what she needed to tell them, they agree to try to not put her in the middle. We'll see how well that goes.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: root beer barrels and M&Ms in her desk, Ring Dings in her dresser
Okay, I don't usually read too much into these books as far as sexuality goes, but even I had to raise my eyebrow at Stacey's description of her and Claudia: "[We] are pretty interested in boys (I've even been described as "boy-crazy"), and we like action!"
According to Stacey, Claudia has low self-esteem. It's nice of Stacey to be concerned about her friend.
Logan has continued to be an alternate sitter despite Mary Anne breaking it off with him.
Stacey's still taking French (though not doing well in it).
Stacey and Laine get along so well here. It's too bad that won't last.
Mary Anne still does catch-and-release with spiders.
Jessi mailed Stacey a letter. She's a self-described terrible letter-writer, so she must be working to change that.
Their Families:
Stacey's parents must have had a really bad divorce. Not only can they hardly stand to be in the same room as each other, they check up on each other through Stacey and can't talk civilly on the phone.
The Club: nothing new
SMS:
SMS has either a student store or a vending machine; Stacey was able to buy a chocolate bar there. It also has at least two stories.
Cokie Mason got a nose job. The BSC has a good laugh about that, but when the Pikes won't let Mallory get one, they're too strict.
8th grade student: Ross Brown
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Stacey briefly wonders about people dealing with more severe cases of diabetes before insulin injection was possible. Laura, Carrie, and Grace Ingalls all died due to complications from diabetes. Probably a good thing they only got candy at Christmas.
Stacey's right about not having privacy in the hospital. Even though I was healthy after my daughter was born, every time I fell asleep someone would come in to check my temperature or her hearing or to tell me I had a visitor. (By the way, please check with a nurse or someone before visiting a patient in the hospital, regardless of the reason for being admitted. It's just polite, like calling before visiting someone at home.)
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 17
Students (other than the BSC): 58; 35 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 47 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
11/28/10
Jessi and the Dance School Phantom (RS#42)
Original Publication Date: 1991
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
This was always one of my favorite books in the series. I'm not sure why...I'm very good at spraining my ankles (and injuring other things, which is why I stuck more to non-contact sports), maybe that had something to do with it. And I just now figured out that the titular Phantom is a reference to the Phantom of the Opera. I am so smart, S-M-R-T--I mean S-M-A-R-T!
Jessi is dancing the lead in her ballet school's production of Sleeping Beauty. She's thrilled, but soon things go south. Someone takes her toe shoes and her spare dancing clothes, she finds threatening notes in her bag, she's pushed during rehearsals, she slips on a wet spot that shouldn't have been there and strains her ankle, and so on. Someone doesn't want her to be in this performance. With help from the rest of the BSC, she creates a suspect list and eventually narrows it down to one, Hilary. She tricks Hilary into revealing that she has the same calligraphy pen and handwriting the notes were done in, and Hilary confesses. After that, the ballet goes on to be a success. Hilary quits ballet when it's over; she was only dancing for her mom, not because she enjoyed it.
At the same time, the BSC hosts a pet show for its charges. There are some spats between the kids over who has the better pet and who will win first prize. Jessie solves this by suggesting the prizes not be first, second, third, but prizes for things like "Longest Tail" and "Shiniest Fur." Hooray for Jessi!
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned
I like that Jessi was surprised that she got the lead, but at the same time wasn't surprised to have gotten a big role. She wasn't thinking, as she had before, that she might get the spot of a peasant. It shows that she's realizing she has talent.
Their Families:
Shannon (the dog) must not be a puppy anymore; she wins "Biggest Pet" over the Perkins's Labrador. Also, we meet Emily Junior, Karen's rat that she named after her sister. (On a related note, my daughter shares a name with my cousin's dog, but she's not named after it. We picked the name first, and they're spelled differently.)
The Club: nothing new
SMS:
8th grade student: Jennifer Cooke
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Jessi's ballet classmates include Mary Bramdstedt (who moves a bit roboticly), Carrie Steinfeld (still the oldest in the class), Katie Beth Parsons (the one with a sister who's deaf), Hilary Morgan (with a pushy, rich mother), and Lisa Jones (a worrywart, but a nice one), all of whom have been mentioned in previous Jessi books. Carrie wins the part of the Bluebird of Happiness, Lisa the Lilac Fairy. Then halfway through the book, Carrie is the Lilac Fairy. By the time the performance rolls around, Lisa has her part back again.
I never understood why Hilary had to get her hair done to have a French braid. My mom put my hair in French all the time, and by the time I was in middle school I could do it myself.
The music Jessi's class dances to is played on a record player.
Jessi needs new toe shoes every week? Is that right?
Kristy and her younger siblings laugh at the thought of Emily Michelle entering Boo-Boo the cat in the pet show, since "he's almost as big as she is!" My eight-day-old daughter was at one point about half the weight of my husband's cat...and more than twelve inches shorter.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 17
Students (other than the BSC): 57; 34 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 47 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-6 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
This was always one of my favorite books in the series. I'm not sure why...I'm very good at spraining my ankles (and injuring other things, which is why I stuck more to non-contact sports), maybe that had something to do with it. And I just now figured out that the titular Phantom is a reference to the Phantom of the Opera. I am so smart, S-M-R-T--I mean S-M-A-R-T!
Jessi is dancing the lead in her ballet school's production of Sleeping Beauty. She's thrilled, but soon things go south. Someone takes her toe shoes and her spare dancing clothes, she finds threatening notes in her bag, she's pushed during rehearsals, she slips on a wet spot that shouldn't have been there and strains her ankle, and so on. Someone doesn't want her to be in this performance. With help from the rest of the BSC, she creates a suspect list and eventually narrows it down to one, Hilary. She tricks Hilary into revealing that she has the same calligraphy pen and handwriting the notes were done in, and Hilary confesses. After that, the ballet goes on to be a success. Hilary quits ballet when it's over; she was only dancing for her mom, not because she enjoyed it.
At the same time, the BSC hosts a pet show for its charges. There are some spats between the kids over who has the better pet and who will win first prize. Jessie solves this by suggesting the prizes not be first, second, third, but prizes for things like "Longest Tail" and "Shiniest Fur." Hooray for Jessi!
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned
I like that Jessi was surprised that she got the lead, but at the same time wasn't surprised to have gotten a big role. She wasn't thinking, as she had before, that she might get the spot of a peasant. It shows that she's realizing she has talent.
Their Families:
Shannon (the dog) must not be a puppy anymore; she wins "Biggest Pet" over the Perkins's Labrador. Also, we meet Emily Junior, Karen's rat that she named after her sister. (On a related note, my daughter shares a name with my cousin's dog, but she's not named after it. We picked the name first, and they're spelled differently.)
The Club: nothing new
SMS:
8th grade student: Jennifer Cooke
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Jessi's ballet classmates include Mary Bramdstedt (who moves a bit roboticly), Carrie Steinfeld (still the oldest in the class), Katie Beth Parsons (the one with a sister who's deaf), Hilary Morgan (with a pushy, rich mother), and Lisa Jones (a worrywart, but a nice one), all of whom have been mentioned in previous Jessi books. Carrie wins the part of the Bluebird of Happiness, Lisa the Lilac Fairy. Then halfway through the book, Carrie is the Lilac Fairy. By the time the performance rolls around, Lisa has her part back again.
I never understood why Hilary had to get her hair done to have a French braid. My mom put my hair in French all the time, and by the time I was in middle school I could do it myself.
The music Jessi's class dances to is played on a record player.
Jessi needs new toe shoes every week? Is that right?
Kristy and her younger siblings laugh at the thought of Emily Michelle entering Boo-Boo the cat in the pet show, since "he's almost as big as she is!" My eight-day-old daughter was at one point about half the weight of my husband's cat...and more than twelve inches shorter.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 17
Students (other than the BSC): 57; 34 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 47 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-6 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
11/16/10
Mary Anne vs. Logan (RS#41)
Original Publication Date: 1991
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
Mary Anne is feeling smothered by Logan, so she has them cool things down. However, Logan doesn't take it as seriously as Mary Anne, and tries to heat things up again without talking to Mary Anne about it first. In response, Mary Anne puts a stop to things and they break up.
At the same time, Jenny Prezzioso is acting out in anticipation of her parents' new baby, due to arrive soon. She's worried that her parents won't have time for her anymore, but once she meets her new little sibling, things start looking up.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: red hots, chocolate-covered cherries, and candy hearts
Stacey's still feeling weak.
Their Families: nothing new
The Club:
Mary Anne and Dawn are still the only BSC members who don't want to wait until the Prezziosos' new baby is born to find out if it's a boy or a girl. (I'd want to know; I could hardly wait for my 20 week ultrasound. My husband and I figured we could be just as surprised at 20 weeks as at 40, and, having already picked names, we wanted to know who was in there.)
Jenny also doesn't know if she's going to have a brother or a sister. I have a brother seven years younger than I, and only my parents knew he was a he before he was born.
SMS: nothing new
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
This book belonged to an Emily Oshiro who had name labels with a kitten on them.
Ugh, Mr. Prezzioso is planning a surprise baby shower for his wife. I would not want a surprise shower, especially at around 36 weeks or more (which is about her gestation). Might get a surprise baby. I like the idea of a party, so you know to be ready for one, then having the fact that it's a shower be a surprise. Better (in my opinion) is no surprise at all, though.
Jenny says she won't be as important after the baby's born. I don't remember this, but my mom told me that after my younger brother was born, my older brother and I (then 7 and 10) told her something to the effect of it being okay that she loved the new baby more because that was just how it should be. She didn't, of course, but we expected her to.
On page 79, the narrator changes briefly: "'But then Toby came along,' Mary Anne reminded me."
Jenny doesn't visit her new sister in the hospital. I was there when my brother was a newborn, even after a complicated labor, and that was around when this book was published.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 17
Students (other than the BSC): 56; 33 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 47 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-6 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
Mary Anne is feeling smothered by Logan, so she has them cool things down. However, Logan doesn't take it as seriously as Mary Anne, and tries to heat things up again without talking to Mary Anne about it first. In response, Mary Anne puts a stop to things and they break up.
At the same time, Jenny Prezzioso is acting out in anticipation of her parents' new baby, due to arrive soon. She's worried that her parents won't have time for her anymore, but once she meets her new little sibling, things start looking up.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: red hots, chocolate-covered cherries, and candy hearts
Stacey's still feeling weak.
Their Families: nothing new
The Club:
Mary Anne and Dawn are still the only BSC members who don't want to wait until the Prezziosos' new baby is born to find out if it's a boy or a girl. (I'd want to know; I could hardly wait for my 20 week ultrasound. My husband and I figured we could be just as surprised at 20 weeks as at 40, and, having already picked names, we wanted to know who was in there.)
Jenny also doesn't know if she's going to have a brother or a sister. I have a brother seven years younger than I, and only my parents knew he was a he before he was born.
SMS: nothing new
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
This book belonged to an Emily Oshiro who had name labels with a kitten on them.
Ugh, Mr. Prezzioso is planning a surprise baby shower for his wife. I would not want a surprise shower, especially at around 36 weeks or more (which is about her gestation). Might get a surprise baby. I like the idea of a party, so you know to be ready for one, then having the fact that it's a shower be a surprise. Better (in my opinion) is no surprise at all, though.
Jenny says she won't be as important after the baby's born. I don't remember this, but my mom told me that after my younger brother was born, my older brother and I (then 7 and 10) told her something to the effect of it being okay that she loved the new baby more because that was just how it should be. She didn't, of course, but we expected her to.
On page 79, the narrator changes briefly: "'But then Toby came along,' Mary Anne reminded me."
Jenny doesn't visit her new sister in the hospital. I was there when my brother was a newborn, even after a complicated labor, and that was around when this book was published.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 17
Students (other than the BSC): 56; 33 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 47 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-6 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
11/10/10
Clauda and the Middle School Mystery (RS#40)
Original Publication Date: 1991
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
Janine helps Claudia study for a big math test, and when she takes it, Claudia is happy to find she actually knows the material well. Her test even comes back with an A-. But after class, she and another student, Shawna Riverson, are called to the teacher's desk: their tests are identical. Since Shawna is usually a good student, the teacher believes her when she says she didn't cheat and pins it on Claudia. But the BSC and Janine stick up for her, and her parents, after a brief moment of doubt, do too. However, Claudia can't come up with a way to prove Shawna cheated. Claudia and the BSC do find a note in her locker about her having cheated (Shawna and Dawn switched lockers), but they can't use it because they'd have to explain how they got it. And when Claudia overhears Shawna talking about it, the conversations confirms that she cheated, but Claudia wasn't recording it.
Finally, Janine talks to the principal about how hard Claudia studied and the unfairness of the blame being placed on her with no way to prove it. The principal and math teacher have Claudia take a different version of the test over, and she does even better on it than the first one. When Shawna is told she'll have to repeat the test the next day, she confesses that she can't, because she won't pass it. She's doing too many extracurriculars and didn't have time to study, so when she found out Janine had helped Claudia, she copied the test.
The subplot is meant to mirror the main one: the Pike triplets are playing baseball outside and break a window. They're grounded until they tell who did it. The grounding lasts most of the book, until Mallory has them reenact it and they show it was an accident.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Cheetos in her desk drawer, Fig Newtons, Mallomars, M&Ms, Fritos, whole-wheat crackers, Oreos (these all sound really good, but I'm sure they have too much salt, which I'm supposed to cut down on until I deliver...why a Claudia book now?)
Probably not intentional, but Claudia dismisses the idea of measuring a set amount of chocolate for baking cookies (regarding a story problem in math). She later proves herself not quite adept at cooking in one of the mysteries.
Stacey's still feeling weak.
Their Families:
Claudia and Janine seem to understanding each other better. Their personalities are too disparate for them to ever be best friends, I think, but they seem to realize they they've got each other's back.
Vanessa Pike is still a slowpoke and Claire is still bossy.
The Club: nothing new
SMS:
Mr. Zorzi is introduced as a math teacher (there is also a math teacher named Mr. Zizmore).
SMS students: Susan Taylor (8th)
PSA time:
Yes, Claudia, you would need a search warrant to look through someone's thing even if you weren't looking for a gun. And you would need to be a proper authority to look through the things, such as a police officer.
Also, speaking of (audio) recording people: in some states (such as mine, Washington) it's illegal to record people without their knowledge. Cases have been thrown out on technicalities like that.
Misc:
There's an orphaned parenthesis on page four.
Cokie Mason is Cokie Gray in this book, like she was in RS#38.
FYI, I'll be having a baby before Thanksgiving, so while I'll do what I can to put up a book a week, there could be a bit of a lag at some point. Maybe in a few years she'll be enjoying the BSC books!
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 17
Students (other than the BSC): 56; 33 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 44 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-6 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
Janine helps Claudia study for a big math test, and when she takes it, Claudia is happy to find she actually knows the material well. Her test even comes back with an A-. But after class, she and another student, Shawna Riverson, are called to the teacher's desk: their tests are identical. Since Shawna is usually a good student, the teacher believes her when she says she didn't cheat and pins it on Claudia. But the BSC and Janine stick up for her, and her parents, after a brief moment of doubt, do too. However, Claudia can't come up with a way to prove Shawna cheated. Claudia and the BSC do find a note in her locker about her having cheated (Shawna and Dawn switched lockers), but they can't use it because they'd have to explain how they got it. And when Claudia overhears Shawna talking about it, the conversations confirms that she cheated, but Claudia wasn't recording it.
Finally, Janine talks to the principal about how hard Claudia studied and the unfairness of the blame being placed on her with no way to prove it. The principal and math teacher have Claudia take a different version of the test over, and she does even better on it than the first one. When Shawna is told she'll have to repeat the test the next day, she confesses that she can't, because she won't pass it. She's doing too many extracurriculars and didn't have time to study, so when she found out Janine had helped Claudia, she copied the test.
The subplot is meant to mirror the main one: the Pike triplets are playing baseball outside and break a window. They're grounded until they tell who did it. The grounding lasts most of the book, until Mallory has them reenact it and they show it was an accident.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Cheetos in her desk drawer, Fig Newtons, Mallomars, M&Ms, Fritos, whole-wheat crackers, Oreos (these all sound really good, but I'm sure they have too much salt, which I'm supposed to cut down on until I deliver...why a Claudia book now?)
Probably not intentional, but Claudia dismisses the idea of measuring a set amount of chocolate for baking cookies (regarding a story problem in math). She later proves herself not quite adept at cooking in one of the mysteries.
Stacey's still feeling weak.
Their Families:
Claudia and Janine seem to understanding each other better. Their personalities are too disparate for them to ever be best friends, I think, but they seem to realize they they've got each other's back.
Vanessa Pike is still a slowpoke and Claire is still bossy.
The Club: nothing new
SMS:
Mr. Zorzi is introduced as a math teacher (there is also a math teacher named Mr. Zizmore).
SMS students: Susan Taylor (8th)
PSA time:
Yes, Claudia, you would need a search warrant to look through someone's thing even if you weren't looking for a gun. And you would need to be a proper authority to look through the things, such as a police officer.
Also, speaking of (audio) recording people: in some states (such as mine, Washington) it's illegal to record people without their knowledge. Cases have been thrown out on technicalities like that.
Misc:
There's an orphaned parenthesis on page four.
Cokie Mason is Cokie Gray in this book, like she was in RS#38.
FYI, I'll be having a baby before Thanksgiving, so while I'll do what I can to put up a book a week, there could be a bit of a lag at some point. Maybe in a few years she'll be enjoying the BSC books!
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 17
Students (other than the BSC): 56; 33 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 44 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-6 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
11/3/10
California Girls! (SS#5)
Original Publication Date: 1990
Ghostwriter? No, Ann wrote this herself and dedicated it to the memory of "Lisa Novak and Gregg Peretz, whose short lives touched hundreds of others' in unique and wonderful ways." From a Google search, it seems they were murdered in their early 30s and may have been married. There is a scholarship fund set up in their names.
Synopsis:
The BSC wins a lottery prize (not the top one) and uses the money to go to California and visit Dawn's dad during one of SMS's many two-week vacations. Since the last super special involved a shipwreck, we'll go ahead and call this realistic.
Dawn gets irritated with her dad's girlfriend, Carol, who can do no right in Dawn's eyes. But she takes care of situation with Stacey (see below) well enough that Dawn ends up okay with her, even being able to accept the idea that her father might marry Carol someday.
Mary Anne babysits a few times for Stephie Roberts, a little girl whose mother died several years ago and who has asthma. Mary Anne is able to sympathize with her about the former and worries a lot about the latter. She eventually relaxes about the asthma and lets Stephie run around and do the things Stephie knows she can do. Of course, Stephie does have a brief asthma attack the last time Mary Anne sits for her, but they both handle it fine.
Claudia goes on a few dates with Terry, a boy she meets at the beach. She's worried that he's too smart for her, and puts on airs to impress him. When she finally lets the charade drop, she discovers that he's much easier to talk to, and they get along fine. They promise to be penpals and try to visit, but of course we'll never hear about him again after this book.
Kristy scoffs at the lackadaisical way the We ♥ Kids Club is run. She volunteers to sit for Erick and Ryan DeWitt, two notoriously ill-behaved boys. They overrun her at first, but Kristy does eventually gain control. In doing so, she (of course) learns that maybe there is more than one right way to do something.
Stacey takes up surfing and starts hanging out with some high school surfers. She starts to act recklessly, following their lead: taking waves that are too big for her, not speaking up when the driver of the car isn't being careful. The driver ends up causing a four-car collision. No one is seriously hurt, but Stacey gets pretty bruised. Carol picks her up from the hospital, and has her tell Dawn's dad what happened, then tell her own parents.
Jessi gets to go the set of PS 162, Derek Masters's TV show. She even gets to be an extra, and starts thinking about searching for an agent in California, because she has no memory of RS#27, in which she already did this and decided to continue with ballet. She only flirts with the idea though, and goes back to concentrating on ballet.
Mallory decides that she needs to look like a California girl and spends a ton of money on make up and (magic) wash-out hair dye that (magically) turns her red hair blonde. She's depressed when the PS 162 director tells her she doesn't have the right look to be an extra, but Kristy snaps her out of it by pointing out that her new look hasn't gained her anything and that she was fine before (Kristy's tactlessness used for good instead of evil). She dyes her hair red again and Stacey and Claudia buy her makeup from her.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: not in this book
Apparently Claudia has been having her dad buy her lottery tickets for a long time...and he's okay with that? She can't read Nancy Drew, but her parents let her play the lottery?
Why do the girls address their postcards so formally? They're to "Mr. and Mrs. [dad's name]." I didn't even do that on my wedding invitations, just "Granny and Grandad" or whoever. (For what it's worth, I was married in a full nuptial Mass)
Claudia loves spaghetti...and this is the infamous flight in which Dawn orders the chicken. Because she's vegetarian, you know.
It's kinda stupid that Kristy would wonder why Carol (Mr. Schafer's girlfriend) would get on Dawn's nerves, given how she was with Watson at first.
Their Families:
Carol is a painter. My first thought was a house painter, but I think she's an artist? She drives a red sports car.
Mallory's dad is named Daniel in this book. In others, he's John.
The Club: nothing new
SMS: nothing new
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
I love how Mary Anne is when Stephie is crying (upset that Mary Anne is going home): "I didn't say 'Don't cry' because everyone has a right to cry when they're feeling bad. And I didn't say 'It's okay' because it wasn't." She just hugs Stephie and lets her be upset.
It's really weird to read about the plane flight with all the changes that have happened in air travel in the last twenty years (yes, this book was published twenty years ago). But weirder than that is the brief discussion about the Soviet Union, in present tense.
It cracks me up that the BSC doesn't know what asthma is. My dad and I have it, and my younger brother used to, so it seems like basic knowledge to me.
You know those gorgeous white sand beaches? Some are made by parrot fish: they eat coral and excrete white sand.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 16
Students (other than the BSC): 32 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 41 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-6 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? No, Ann wrote this herself and dedicated it to the memory of "Lisa Novak and Gregg Peretz, whose short lives touched hundreds of others' in unique and wonderful ways." From a Google search, it seems they were murdered in their early 30s and may have been married. There is a scholarship fund set up in their names.
Synopsis:
The BSC wins a lottery prize (not the top one) and uses the money to go to California and visit Dawn's dad during one of SMS's many two-week vacations. Since the last super special involved a shipwreck, we'll go ahead and call this realistic.
Dawn gets irritated with her dad's girlfriend, Carol, who can do no right in Dawn's eyes. But she takes care of situation with Stacey (see below) well enough that Dawn ends up okay with her, even being able to accept the idea that her father might marry Carol someday.
Mary Anne babysits a few times for Stephie Roberts, a little girl whose mother died several years ago and who has asthma. Mary Anne is able to sympathize with her about the former and worries a lot about the latter. She eventually relaxes about the asthma and lets Stephie run around and do the things Stephie knows she can do. Of course, Stephie does have a brief asthma attack the last time Mary Anne sits for her, but they both handle it fine.
Claudia goes on a few dates with Terry, a boy she meets at the beach. She's worried that he's too smart for her, and puts on airs to impress him. When she finally lets the charade drop, she discovers that he's much easier to talk to, and they get along fine. They promise to be penpals and try to visit, but of course we'll never hear about him again after this book.
Kristy scoffs at the lackadaisical way the We ♥ Kids Club is run. She volunteers to sit for Erick and Ryan DeWitt, two notoriously ill-behaved boys. They overrun her at first, but Kristy does eventually gain control. In doing so, she (of course) learns that maybe there is more than one right way to do something.
Stacey takes up surfing and starts hanging out with some high school surfers. She starts to act recklessly, following their lead: taking waves that are too big for her, not speaking up when the driver of the car isn't being careful. The driver ends up causing a four-car collision. No one is seriously hurt, but Stacey gets pretty bruised. Carol picks her up from the hospital, and has her tell Dawn's dad what happened, then tell her own parents.
Jessi gets to go the set of PS 162, Derek Masters's TV show. She even gets to be an extra, and starts thinking about searching for an agent in California, because she has no memory of RS#27, in which she already did this and decided to continue with ballet. She only flirts with the idea though, and goes back to concentrating on ballet.
Mallory decides that she needs to look like a California girl and spends a ton of money on make up and (magic) wash-out hair dye that (magically) turns her red hair blonde. She's depressed when the PS 162 director tells her she doesn't have the right look to be an extra, but Kristy snaps her out of it by pointing out that her new look hasn't gained her anything and that she was fine before (Kristy's tactlessness used for good instead of evil). She dyes her hair red again and Stacey and Claudia buy her makeup from her.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: not in this book
Apparently Claudia has been having her dad buy her lottery tickets for a long time...and he's okay with that? She can't read Nancy Drew, but her parents let her play the lottery?
Why do the girls address their postcards so formally? They're to "Mr. and Mrs. [dad's name]." I didn't even do that on my wedding invitations, just "Granny and Grandad" or whoever. (For what it's worth, I was married in a full nuptial Mass)
Claudia loves spaghetti...and this is the infamous flight in which Dawn orders the chicken. Because she's vegetarian, you know.
It's kinda stupid that Kristy would wonder why Carol (Mr. Schafer's girlfriend) would get on Dawn's nerves, given how she was with Watson at first.
Their Families:
Carol is a painter. My first thought was a house painter, but I think she's an artist? She drives a red sports car.
Mallory's dad is named Daniel in this book. In others, he's John.
The Club: nothing new
SMS: nothing new
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
I love how Mary Anne is when Stephie is crying (upset that Mary Anne is going home): "I didn't say 'Don't cry' because everyone has a right to cry when they're feeling bad. And I didn't say 'It's okay' because it wasn't." She just hugs Stephie and lets her be upset.
It's really weird to read about the plane flight with all the changes that have happened in air travel in the last twenty years (yes, this book was published twenty years ago). But weirder than that is the brief discussion about the Soviet Union, in present tense.
It cracks me up that the BSC doesn't know what asthma is. My dad and I have it, and my younger brother used to, so it seems like basic knowledge to me.
You know those gorgeous white sand beaches? Some are made by parrot fish: they eat coral and excrete white sand.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 16
Students (other than the BSC): 32 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 41 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-6 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
10/24/10
Poor Mallory! (RS#39)
Original Publication Date: 1990
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
The company Mallory's dad works for is having trouble, so he's laid off. Mallory and her siblings are pretty worried, especially when he has little luck with job prospects. Mrs. Pike works for a temp agency, but since the kids are concerned that won't be enough to make ends meet, they all work hard to use less money (for example, not watching TV to save on the electric bill) and save their own money in case their parents need it. (They don't know that Mr. Pike has severance pay)
Mallory ends up baby-sitting a lot more, including a steady job at the Delaneys', who just had a pool put in. She helps Amanda and Max deal with the problem of who's coming over to play with them versus who's coming to play with their pool. She's in a good position to discern real friends, since some of the sixth-graders she'd been closer to are now teasing her, saying that her dad must be lazy or was stealing from the company.
Mr. Pike does eventually get another job, albeit not quite as good, but it's good enough that things can go back to normal. The book ends with Mallory hosting her first BSC sleepover, complete with prank-calling the two girls who were meanest to her.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Mallomars in her jewelry box, Fritos behind her pillow
When Mallory got her ears pierced, her mom specifically said she wanted her to wear fun earrings, but now she's only allowed to wear studs or tiny hoops (before her father gets laid off).
Stacey's still not feeling well.
Their Families:
Mallory's mom likes computers and is very good with them.
The Club:
Last book witnessed the advent of "distant" for "cool." Now we also have "dibble" for "incredible" and "stale" for "uncool."
Mrs. Prezzioso is pregnant. Dawn and Mary Anne know the baby's gender, but the rest of the club wants to be surprised.
SMS: nothing new
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Isn't there a difference between being laid off and being fired? Because you wouldn't know it from this book.
Washing dishes for a family of ten by hand doesn't really save money. Dishwashers use less water when they're run at full capacity.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 16
Students (other than the BSC): 32 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 41 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-6 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-6 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
The company Mallory's dad works for is having trouble, so he's laid off. Mallory and her siblings are pretty worried, especially when he has little luck with job prospects. Mrs. Pike works for a temp agency, but since the kids are concerned that won't be enough to make ends meet, they all work hard to use less money (for example, not watching TV to save on the electric bill) and save their own money in case their parents need it. (They don't know that Mr. Pike has severance pay)
Mallory ends up baby-sitting a lot more, including a steady job at the Delaneys', who just had a pool put in. She helps Amanda and Max deal with the problem of who's coming over to play with them versus who's coming to play with their pool. She's in a good position to discern real friends, since some of the sixth-graders she'd been closer to are now teasing her, saying that her dad must be lazy or was stealing from the company.
Mr. Pike does eventually get another job, albeit not quite as good, but it's good enough that things can go back to normal. The book ends with Mallory hosting her first BSC sleepover, complete with prank-calling the two girls who were meanest to her.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Mallomars in her jewelry box, Fritos behind her pillow
When Mallory got her ears pierced, her mom specifically said she wanted her to wear fun earrings, but now she's only allowed to wear studs or tiny hoops (before her father gets laid off).
Stacey's still not feeling well.
Their Families:
Mallory's mom likes computers and is very good with them.
The Club:
Last book witnessed the advent of "distant" for "cool." Now we also have "dibble" for "incredible" and "stale" for "uncool."
Mrs. Prezzioso is pregnant. Dawn and Mary Anne know the baby's gender, but the rest of the club wants to be surprised.
SMS: nothing new
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Isn't there a difference between being laid off and being fired? Because you wouldn't know it from this book.
Washing dishes for a family of ten by hand doesn't really save money. Dishwashers use less water when they're run at full capacity.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 16
Students (other than the BSC): 32 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 41 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-6 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-6 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
10/17/10
Kristy's Mystery Admirer (RS#38)
Original Publication Date: 1990
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
Kristy starts getting notes from a mystery admirer. Once she decides it's not Sam playing a prank, she's excited, thinking they might be from Bart. Then the letters get creepy, and almost threatening. It looks like someone's out to get Kristy. She concludes it's either a psycho or still Bart, trying to psyche her out for the upcoming "World Series" game they have planned between the Krushers and Bashers.
Not wanting to believe the former, she and the rest of the BSC give Bart the cold shoulder until he confronts Kristy about it. He admits that he sent the first (nice) ones, but he didn't send the others. So Kristy is still worried the day of the big game, but the mystery quickly unravels there. For some reason, Cokie Mason and her friends are in the stands. Cokie starts talking to Kristy before the game, and accidentally gives herself away. She had seen the original letters when Kristy was showing them to the BSC at lunch, and wanted to get back at Kristy for the stunt the BSC pulled in the graveyard last Halloween (which was also in eighth grade).
So all ends well: the Krushers win and earn enough money through a bake sale to buy team hats, and Bart accompanies Kristy to the Halloween Hop. They win a free pizza as a prize for most unusual costume: lobsters.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: potato chips and Gummi Bears under a comforter
Okay, this stuff with Stacey's not feeling well is becoming just as much a part of "Chapter 2" as Kristy's living in a REAL, LIVE MANSION.
Ooh, but here's a bit about Mary Anne and Logan: they've been having problems. At least that foreshadowing won't last too long.
Dawn is described here as "organized" rather than neat. That actually makes her annoyance at Richard's organization tendencies make sense: it's not that she's a slob, it's that she was used to what order was already there, and he was changing it.
Kristy is the only member of the BSC who doesn't yet need a bra. I assume she's not including associate members, unless Logan has secrets.
How about that? Mallory's still level-headed at this point in the series.
Their Families:
Why is not letting kids get nose jobs a sign of parental strictness? Kristy mentions that Shannon's parents won't let her get one, but quickly clarifies that they're not strict, they just think she should be an adult to make a decision like that. That's called being a responsible parent, people. We do also learn here that Shannon's parents work A LOT, by the way.
The Club:
I believe this is the first appearance of "distant" as BSC slang for "cool."
In the previous book, Dawn said that Stacey keeps track of how much each sitter earns and Kristy confirms that. She also mentions that Mary Anne keeps track of how much each client pays. Wouldn't those fall under that same category? Either Stacey or Mary Anne should do both.
Since Dawn often has little to do at a given meeting, she gets to answer the phone a lot.
SMS:
Oops. Mallory joins in on the lunch conversation. But sixth and eighth grades have different lunch period. By the end of lunch, she's not there.
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Normally I get bored when Kristy's coaching, but I had to laugh when she's murmuring tips under her breath, because having been a coach, that's dead on. You don't want to break the athlete's concentration, but you still feel a need to will the performance to go well. Her murmuring works, too: the Krushers win their first game against the Bashers. Also, the Krushers use a softball...do they also play with ten field positions or nine like baseball?
Bart plays guitar in a band.
Okay, I've given up documenting all the wrong uses of "us baby-sitters" (believe me, there have been plenty) but look! Kristy uses "we" instead of "us"! When she's supposed to! (She did the opposite a few pages back, but what can you do?)
This is book that mistakenly calls Cokie Mason "Cokie Gray."
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 16
Students (other than the BSC): 32 8th graders, six sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 41 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-6 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-6 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
Kristy starts getting notes from a mystery admirer. Once she decides it's not Sam playing a prank, she's excited, thinking they might be from Bart. Then the letters get creepy, and almost threatening. It looks like someone's out to get Kristy. She concludes it's either a psycho or still Bart, trying to psyche her out for the upcoming "World Series" game they have planned between the Krushers and Bashers.
Not wanting to believe the former, she and the rest of the BSC give Bart the cold shoulder until he confronts Kristy about it. He admits that he sent the first (nice) ones, but he didn't send the others. So Kristy is still worried the day of the big game, but the mystery quickly unravels there. For some reason, Cokie Mason and her friends are in the stands. Cokie starts talking to Kristy before the game, and accidentally gives herself away. She had seen the original letters when Kristy was showing them to the BSC at lunch, and wanted to get back at Kristy for the stunt the BSC pulled in the graveyard last Halloween (which was also in eighth grade).
So all ends well: the Krushers win and earn enough money through a bake sale to buy team hats, and Bart accompanies Kristy to the Halloween Hop. They win a free pizza as a prize for most unusual costume: lobsters.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: potato chips and Gummi Bears under a comforter
Okay, this stuff with Stacey's not feeling well is becoming just as much a part of "Chapter 2" as Kristy's living in a REAL, LIVE MANSION.
Ooh, but here's a bit about Mary Anne and Logan: they've been having problems. At least that foreshadowing won't last too long.
Dawn is described here as "organized" rather than neat. That actually makes her annoyance at Richard's organization tendencies make sense: it's not that she's a slob, it's that she was used to what order was already there, and he was changing it.
Kristy is the only member of the BSC who doesn't yet need a bra. I assume she's not including associate members, unless Logan has secrets.
How about that? Mallory's still level-headed at this point in the series.
Their Families:
Why is not letting kids get nose jobs a sign of parental strictness? Kristy mentions that Shannon's parents won't let her get one, but quickly clarifies that they're not strict, they just think she should be an adult to make a decision like that. That's called being a responsible parent, people. We do also learn here that Shannon's parents work A LOT, by the way.
The Club:
I believe this is the first appearance of "distant" as BSC slang for "cool."
In the previous book, Dawn said that Stacey keeps track of how much each sitter earns and Kristy confirms that. She also mentions that Mary Anne keeps track of how much each client pays. Wouldn't those fall under that same category? Either Stacey or Mary Anne should do both.
Since Dawn often has little to do at a given meeting, she gets to answer the phone a lot.
SMS:
Oops. Mallory joins in on the lunch conversation. But sixth and eighth grades have different lunch period. By the end of lunch, she's not there.
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Normally I get bored when Kristy's coaching, but I had to laugh when she's murmuring tips under her breath, because having been a coach, that's dead on. You don't want to break the athlete's concentration, but you still feel a need to will the performance to go well. Her murmuring works, too: the Krushers win their first game against the Bashers. Also, the Krushers use a softball...do they also play with ten field positions or nine like baseball?
Bart plays guitar in a band.
Okay, I've given up documenting all the wrong uses of "us baby-sitters" (believe me, there have been plenty) but look! Kristy uses "we" instead of "us"! When she's supposed to! (She did the opposite a few pages back, but what can you do?)
This is book that mistakenly calls Cokie Mason "Cokie Gray."
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 16
Students (other than the BSC): 32 8th graders, six sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 41 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-6 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-6 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
10/10/10
Dawn and the Older Boy (RS#37)
Original Publication Date: 1990
Ghostwriter? Yes, Mary Lou Kennedy
Synopsis:
Dawn develops a huge crush on a high school friend of Kristy's brothers. And Travis seems to like her back: he stops by her house, takes her to the mall, buys her little gifts, and so on. But his gifts are also a way of manipulating her: he buys her hair combs in order to get her to cut her hair and style it differently, he buys her earrings in the hopes she'll get a third hole pierced in each ear, he orders for her at a restaurant. Dawn's a little too smitten to see that he's trying to change her until she realizes that he's actually dating someone at his high school. The shock brings her back to Earth. She tells Travis what she thinks of him (not much) and moves on.
The parallel story is that James Hobart is getting teased by Zach again, and is torn between playing with his real friends and wanting to fit in now that he lives in America. He eventually decides to hang out with people who appreciate him for who he is rather than for who they want him to be.
The book ends with Mary Anne and Logan having written to Logan's cousin, Lewis, about Dawn. He writes back to Dawn, and they become penpals and plan to meet when he visits Stoneybrook later in the year.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy:
There is still MORE foreboding about Stacey's health.
Obviously, when Jessi is sleeping over at someone's house or on a trip, she can't practice ballet at her barre. I wonder if she does other exercises instead.
Dawn says no one her age shakes hands, but Mallory shook Mrs. Ramsey's hand when Jessi introduced them (yes, Mallory's 11, but Dawn thinks this in reference to a high schooler, so I'm assuming a wide age range). Of course, Dawn didn't see that interaction.
Mallory and Ben Hobart are starting to go out. According to Dawn, Ben's in eighth grade? I thought he was in sixth...
Their Families:
I doubt this is intentional, but at one point David Michael looks through a cigar box full of toys. Way off in book 107 or 118, we'll find out that Watson smokes cigars once in while. Either crazy-good continuity or a coincidence.
Sam Thomas is on the track team, but the book doesn't specify which events he does.
The Club:
Okay, Kristy's starting to become a caricature: while she doesn't say anything, she's clearly annoyed with Dawn for arriving two minutes late for a BSC...when she was coming from a sitting job.
Hmm. Dawn says Stacey keeps track of how much the sitters make at their jobs. That use to fall under Mary Anne's job.
SMS:
Assuming Stoneybrook High School and Middle School follow similar sports schedules, football and boys' basketball and both boys' and girls' swimming are all in the fall. So is track and field...and there are tryouts for it? Maybe the ghostwriter just doesn't know sports that well, or Connecticut is weird. I'm leaning toward the former, because how can he be on three of teams at once (football, track, swimming)? I got two letters one high school season, but that's because I was manager of the second team, which is much easier to work out schedule-wise.
PSA time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
I think it's odd that most teenagers in these books don't get their licenses at 16 (from the description, Travis is the only person Dawn knows who got his license at 16). That was the norm at my school. We didn't necessarily have cars, but we had our licenses.
I briefly had a similar reaction to Dawn's assumption that the Latin club would be all girls, because my dad took Latin in high school the other (four) students were also male...then I remembered he went to all-boys school.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, six sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 40 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, Planter's Peanut bar, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Mary Lou Kennedy
Synopsis:
Dawn develops a huge crush on a high school friend of Kristy's brothers. And Travis seems to like her back: he stops by her house, takes her to the mall, buys her little gifts, and so on. But his gifts are also a way of manipulating her: he buys her hair combs in order to get her to cut her hair and style it differently, he buys her earrings in the hopes she'll get a third hole pierced in each ear, he orders for her at a restaurant. Dawn's a little too smitten to see that he's trying to change her until she realizes that he's actually dating someone at his high school. The shock brings her back to Earth. She tells Travis what she thinks of him (not much) and moves on.
The parallel story is that James Hobart is getting teased by Zach again, and is torn between playing with his real friends and wanting to fit in now that he lives in America. He eventually decides to hang out with people who appreciate him for who he is rather than for who they want him to be.
The book ends with Mary Anne and Logan having written to Logan's cousin, Lewis, about Dawn. He writes back to Dawn, and they become penpals and plan to meet when he visits Stoneybrook later in the year.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy:
There is still MORE foreboding about Stacey's health.
Obviously, when Jessi is sleeping over at someone's house or on a trip, she can't practice ballet at her barre. I wonder if she does other exercises instead.
Dawn says no one her age shakes hands, but Mallory shook Mrs. Ramsey's hand when Jessi introduced them (yes, Mallory's 11, but Dawn thinks this in reference to a high schooler, so I'm assuming a wide age range). Of course, Dawn didn't see that interaction.
Mallory and Ben Hobart are starting to go out. According to Dawn, Ben's in eighth grade? I thought he was in sixth...
Their Families:
I doubt this is intentional, but at one point David Michael looks through a cigar box full of toys. Way off in book 107 or 118, we'll find out that Watson smokes cigars once in while. Either crazy-good continuity or a coincidence.
Sam Thomas is on the track team, but the book doesn't specify which events he does.
The Club:
Okay, Kristy's starting to become a caricature: while she doesn't say anything, she's clearly annoyed with Dawn for arriving two minutes late for a BSC...when she was coming from a sitting job.
Hmm. Dawn says Stacey keeps track of how much the sitters make at their jobs. That use to fall under Mary Anne's job.
SMS:
Assuming Stoneybrook High School and Middle School follow similar sports schedules, football and boys' basketball and both boys' and girls' swimming are all in the fall. So is track and field...and there are tryouts for it? Maybe the ghostwriter just doesn't know sports that well, or Connecticut is weird. I'm leaning toward the former, because how can he be on three of teams at once (football, track, swimming)? I got two letters one high school season, but that's because I was manager of the second team, which is much easier to work out schedule-wise.
PSA time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
I think it's odd that most teenagers in these books don't get their licenses at 16 (from the description, Travis is the only person Dawn knows who got his license at 16). That was the norm at my school. We didn't necessarily have cars, but we had our licenses.
I briefly had a similar reaction to Dawn's assumption that the Latin club would be all girls, because my dad took Latin in high school the other (four) students were also male...then I remembered he went to all-boys school.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, six sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 40 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, Planter's Peanut bar, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-3 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
10/6/10
Jessi's Baby-sitter (RS#36)
Original Publication Date: 1990
Ghostwriter? No, Ann wrote this and dedicated it to the memory of a Eugene Dougherty who she explains taught her to make writing exciting. Mallory has a creative writing teacher named Mr. Dougherty.
Synopsis:
Jessi's mom is starting a full-time job, which means Jessi's Aunt Cecelia is moving in to care for Jessi and her siblings. There's still tension about the whole Becca-getting-lost-at-sea incident, and the girls are not looking forward to having to obey their strict aunt. She treats them younger than their parents do (for example, picking out their clothes for school) and doesn't let them have the same privileges (she even keeps Jessi home from a BSC meeting!). The girls respond by playing practical jokes on her (shaving cream in her slippers, fake spiders on her pillow) in an effort to make her leave. Of course, the problems are finally smoothed out when the girls--gasp--talk to their mom and dad about the issue. Aunt Cecelia also plays a few pranks on them to even things out.
Jessi is prompted to talk to her parents after helping Jackie Rodowsky enter the school science fair turns into her doing the project for him. (Stacey helps Charlotte with a project about the effect of music on plant growth; Kristy helps David Michael with one on the solar system; Mallory helps Margo with a display about colonies on the moon) She sees how easily wanting to help someone and have the person do well can lead to taking over. Aunt Cecelia admits that she was worried she wouldn't be as good a sitter as Jessi (of course) and that she worries that the girls will have to work twice as hard to prove themselves because of their race. I knew an officer in the Air Force who said that about being female; wasn't a fan of her (but it was in training environment; I wasn't supposed to like her).
Also of note in this book, the Pikes combine their books into library. My older brother and I briefly (as in, for part of an afternoon) tried that. I still find little squares of paper taped inside many of my books, to hold the check-out slips.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Planter's Peanut Bar under her armchair, Neccos
Jeez, there is even MORE foreboding about Stacey's health. #43 can't come soon enough.
Mallory and Jessi are still working on their gum wrapper chain.
Claudia doesn't like purple Necco wafers.
Dawn has an upcoming trip to California planned.
Shannon still exists (she even gets a sitting job). It's also mentioned that she's going to Hawaii over the next school break.
Their Families:
Cecelia is Jessi's paternal aunt; she's her dad's older sister. She's also a widow, but Jessi only mentions her uncle's death in passing.
Jessi has long eyelashes but her mom doesn't, just like my mom and me.
The Pikes all like to read, and Nicky still has a particular fondness for dog stories (first referenced in RS#9).
Whatever car Jessi's dad drives has a trailer hitch. At least, I hope it does, because he hooks a U-Haul trailer to it.
Stacey's mom likes Vivaldi.
The company Mallory's dad works is having financial problems.
The Club:
Jessi hates writing in the notebook, which makes sense since she describes herself (in RS#16) as a terrible letter-writer.
SMS:
Jessi is still the only black student in sixth grade at SMS.
PSA time:
Squirt takes a bottle to bed with him, but of water, which is a much better choice than milk or juice. The latter two could cause teeth or gum disease or fall behind the crib and go bad. Nothing like a bottle of yogurt that used to be full of milk.
Misc:
Why do most of the girls all have armchairs in their rooms?
I think it's hilarious that Jessi thinks no one else at Jackie's school will enter a volcano in the science fair. Those were one of the most popular things when I was in school.
Geez, and Mallory suggests getting a REPTILE book to look up information on a FROG. I guess she wasn't kidding when she said on the previous page that science isn't her strongest subject.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 40 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, Planter's Peanut bar, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? No, Ann wrote this and dedicated it to the memory of a Eugene Dougherty who she explains taught her to make writing exciting. Mallory has a creative writing teacher named Mr. Dougherty.
Synopsis:
Jessi's mom is starting a full-time job, which means Jessi's Aunt Cecelia is moving in to care for Jessi and her siblings. There's still tension about the whole Becca-getting-lost-at-sea incident, and the girls are not looking forward to having to obey their strict aunt. She treats them younger than their parents do (for example, picking out their clothes for school) and doesn't let them have the same privileges (she even keeps Jessi home from a BSC meeting!). The girls respond by playing practical jokes on her (shaving cream in her slippers, fake spiders on her pillow) in an effort to make her leave. Of course, the problems are finally smoothed out when the girls--gasp--talk to their mom and dad about the issue. Aunt Cecelia also plays a few pranks on them to even things out.
Jessi is prompted to talk to her parents after helping Jackie Rodowsky enter the school science fair turns into her doing the project for him. (Stacey helps Charlotte with a project about the effect of music on plant growth; Kristy helps David Michael with one on the solar system; Mallory helps Margo with a display about colonies on the moon) She sees how easily wanting to help someone and have the person do well can lead to taking over. Aunt Cecelia admits that she was worried she wouldn't be as good a sitter as Jessi (of course) and that she worries that the girls will have to work twice as hard to prove themselves because of their race. I knew an officer in the Air Force who said that about being female; wasn't a fan of her (but it was in training environment; I wasn't supposed to like her).
Also of note in this book, the Pikes combine their books into library. My older brother and I briefly (as in, for part of an afternoon) tried that. I still find little squares of paper taped inside many of my books, to hold the check-out slips.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Planter's Peanut Bar under her armchair, Neccos
Jeez, there is even MORE foreboding about Stacey's health. #43 can't come soon enough.
Mallory and Jessi are still working on their gum wrapper chain.
Claudia doesn't like purple Necco wafers.
Dawn has an upcoming trip to California planned.
Shannon still exists (she even gets a sitting job). It's also mentioned that she's going to Hawaii over the next school break.
Their Families:
Cecelia is Jessi's paternal aunt; she's her dad's older sister. She's also a widow, but Jessi only mentions her uncle's death in passing.
Jessi has long eyelashes but her mom doesn't, just like my mom and me.
The Pikes all like to read, and Nicky still has a particular fondness for dog stories (first referenced in RS#9).
Whatever car Jessi's dad drives has a trailer hitch. At least, I hope it does, because he hooks a U-Haul trailer to it.
Stacey's mom likes Vivaldi.
The company Mallory's dad works is having financial problems.
The Club:
Jessi hates writing in the notebook, which makes sense since she describes herself (in RS#16) as a terrible letter-writer.
SMS:
Jessi is still the only black student in sixth grade at SMS.
PSA time:
Squirt takes a bottle to bed with him, but of water, which is a much better choice than milk or juice. The latter two could cause teeth or gum disease or fall behind the crib and go bad. Nothing like a bottle of yogurt that used to be full of milk.
Misc:
Why do most of the girls all have armchairs in their rooms?
I think it's hilarious that Jessi thinks no one else at Jackie's school will enter a volcano in the science fair. Those were one of the most popular things when I was in school.
Geez, and Mallory suggests getting a REPTILE book to look up information on a FROG. I guess she wasn't kidding when she said on the previous page that science isn't her strongest subject.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 40 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, Planter's Peanut bar, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
9/25/10
Baby-Sitters' Island Adventure (SS#4)
Original Publication Date: 1990
Ghostwriter? No, Ann gets all the credit for this!
Synopsis:
Dawn and Claudia go sailing with Becca Ramsey, Haley Braddock, Jeff Schafer, and Jamie Newton and get ship-wrecked on an island in Long Island Sound.
No, seriously.
Dawn and Claudia are taking a sailing class and have a race. It ends in tie, so they agree to a rematch. They will race to a specific island, Dawn taking along Jeff and Haley; Claudia taking Becca and Jamie, and have a picnic there. During the race, a storm comes up and Dawn's boat starts sinking. The six of them manage to get to a nearby island with most of their picnic supplies and end up stranded there for two days and nights. Fortunately, they have food, and Jeff helps keep the younger kids occupied. Jamie ends up getting pretty sick, and Dawn gets freaked out enough to be useless. Claudia ends up getting them rescued by finding a broken piece of a mirror to reflect the sun back toward the rescue planes. She also devises a rain-catcher to collect water while they wait.
Back on the mainland, the rest of the BSC is trying to cope. Mary Anne feels guilty because, after a fight (Dawn forgot to tell Mary Anne that Logan couldn't meet her somwhere; she and Logan got in a fight about that), she told Dawn she wished she'd never see her sister again. Stacey's in New York, and her dad doesn't want to her come home early. Kristy cancels a Krusher-Basher softball game and at first Bart thinks she's just wimping out (they work things out). Mallory and her family go searching quite a bit. Jessi, who was left in charge of Becca and Squirt for the weekend (her parents did give permission for Becca to go sailing, by the way), has to call in her dreaded and strict Aunt Cecelia. More about her next book.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Ring-Dings and pretzels in her closet
Apparently, Dawn and Claudia have been learning to sail for years; the former in California and the latter on summer vacations.
Jessi has taken after Mallory, and now keeps a journal.
Their Families:
Carol (Mr. Schafer's girlfriend) is starting to grow on Jeff.
Hunter Bruno, in addition to his myriad of allergies, has asthma. If he's gone sailing, they could have played Lord of the Flies!
Sharon Spier lets off on a TV reporter, responding to "How do you feel with two of your kids missing?" with "How do you THINK I feel?!" I wouldn't mention it except that she reacts similarly to a reporter later in Dawn and the School Spirit War. In her defense, I'd probably be more worried about my kids than some TV reporter, too.
The Club:
Haley Braddock still appears to have her mullet/rattail thing, according to the illustrations. On the front cover, the one I think is her also has somewhat dark skin, like Matt Braddock does on the cover of Jessi's Secret Language.
SMS: Nothing new
PSA time: Nothing new
Misc:
So, bulking up on pasta, what Dawn wants to do? Carb-loading works for strenuous sports, but it's best eaten two nights before the cross country race or whatever it is. Not sure if sailing is strenuous enough to warrant carb-loading. I've never sailed, but it seems less physically demanding than a 90-minute soccer game.
Know why you lose more body heat through your head in the cold? Because the rest of you is usually clothed. Meaning, if you're wearing shorts and T-shirt, your head won't be losing heat at a radically different rate than your arms and legs.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? No, Ann gets all the credit for this!
Synopsis:
Dawn and Claudia go sailing with Becca Ramsey, Haley Braddock, Jeff Schafer, and Jamie Newton and get ship-wrecked on an island in Long Island Sound.
No, seriously.
Dawn and Claudia are taking a sailing class and have a race. It ends in tie, so they agree to a rematch. They will race to a specific island, Dawn taking along Jeff and Haley; Claudia taking Becca and Jamie, and have a picnic there. During the race, a storm comes up and Dawn's boat starts sinking. The six of them manage to get to a nearby island with most of their picnic supplies and end up stranded there for two days and nights. Fortunately, they have food, and Jeff helps keep the younger kids occupied. Jamie ends up getting pretty sick, and Dawn gets freaked out enough to be useless. Claudia ends up getting them rescued by finding a broken piece of a mirror to reflect the sun back toward the rescue planes. She also devises a rain-catcher to collect water while they wait.
Back on the mainland, the rest of the BSC is trying to cope. Mary Anne feels guilty because, after a fight (Dawn forgot to tell Mary Anne that Logan couldn't meet her somwhere; she and Logan got in a fight about that), she told Dawn she wished she'd never see her sister again. Stacey's in New York, and her dad doesn't want to her come home early. Kristy cancels a Krusher-Basher softball game and at first Bart thinks she's just wimping out (they work things out). Mallory and her family go searching quite a bit. Jessi, who was left in charge of Becca and Squirt for the weekend (her parents did give permission for Becca to go sailing, by the way), has to call in her dreaded and strict Aunt Cecelia. More about her next book.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Ring-Dings and pretzels in her closet
Apparently, Dawn and Claudia have been learning to sail for years; the former in California and the latter on summer vacations.
Jessi has taken after Mallory, and now keeps a journal.
Their Families:
Carol (Mr. Schafer's girlfriend) is starting to grow on Jeff.
Hunter Bruno, in addition to his myriad of allergies, has asthma. If he's gone sailing, they could have played Lord of the Flies!
Sharon Spier lets off on a TV reporter, responding to "How do you feel with two of your kids missing?" with "How do you THINK I feel?!" I wouldn't mention it except that she reacts similarly to a reporter later in Dawn and the School Spirit War. In her defense, I'd probably be more worried about my kids than some TV reporter, too.
The Club:
Haley Braddock still appears to have her mullet/rattail thing, according to the illustrations. On the front cover, the one I think is her also has somewhat dark skin, like Matt Braddock does on the cover of Jessi's Secret Language.
SMS: Nothing new
PSA time: Nothing new
Misc:
So, bulking up on pasta, what Dawn wants to do? Carb-loading works for strenuous sports, but it's best eaten two nights before the cross country race or whatever it is. Not sure if sailing is strenuous enough to warrant carb-loading. I've never sailed, but it seems less physically demanding than a 90-minute soccer game.
Know why you lose more body heat through your head in the cold? Because the rest of you is usually clothed. Meaning, if you're wearing shorts and T-shirt, your head won't be losing heat at a radically different rate than your arms and legs.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
9/19/10
Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook (RS#35)
Original Publication Date: 1990
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
An old house in Stoneybrook is going to be torn down, but not before certain items are removed for the historical society. While this is going on, Charlotte Johanssen is staying with the McGills for a week while her parents go to be with her grandfather who's having surgery.
Stacey and Charlotte visit the house one day...and see some rather unsettling things: a mysterious face at the window, a swarm of flies near the back door, flames that suddenly disappear. They also have nightmares about the house. Kristy and Claudia do some investigating, and find that the house is built on part of an old cemetery and that the last owner now lives at a retirement home. They go to visit him and he tells them of more hauntings he experienced while living there. Despite his warnings to not attend the demolition for fear of what might be unleashed, Stacey and Charlotte go to it along with many other people from Stoneybrook. As the house is knocked down, Stacey sees more of the same flames...but no one else does. In fact, everyone else seems bored. Stacey rushes off to the retirement home, only to find that the previous owner died the night before, but had also left her a note, in which he admitted making up all the stories just so he could enjoy their company and give them something exciting to pursue. The things Stacey and Charlotte saw have reasonable explanations (the workers removing the historical pieces). So...not much of a mystery.
What Stacey saw the day of the demolition is never explained, and there are the still the nightmares, plus some weird experiences other girls had (Mallory had a nightmare, Claudia felt a presence). But the other girls' experiences happened a long time ago, and I think were just due to their feeling uncomfortable around an old, abandoned house. As for Stacey and Charlotte? Well, Stacey's diabetes has been harder to control lately and Charlotte gets tonsillitis while staying with the McGills. I think their illnesses caused what wasn't explained by the workers' actions.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: M&Ms, Twinkies, and Twix bars in her closet, crackers under her bed, Doritos
There is even MORE foreshadowing about Stacey's diabetes getting harder to control, possibly because of puberty.
Dawn's lived in Stoneybrook for "almost two years now." Which makes sense: she moved their January of their seventh grade year, and they just finished the summer after eighth. But school has just started again, and they're back in eighth grade.
Their Families:
Stacey's dad is the only one she lets call her Anastasia.
Stacey and her mom still have the painting from Mallory and the Mystery Diary hanging over their fireplace.
The Club:
Again, the claim that Kristy's never missed a meeting, and how Dawn wants her to so she can be president for a day. Kristy has missed a few meetings, including at least one when Dawn could easily have taken over: when her dog died.
Charlotte Johanssen's favorite TV show is still The Cosby Show.
SMS: Nothing new
PSA time:
Hooray! Even though Charlotte's feeling better, she still finishes her penicillin prescription. Not doing so is a good way to get antibiotic-resistant bacteria, because when you're on the mend and feeling better, the bacteria that's still left is the stronger bacteria. Finish your dosages!
Misc:
This just occurred to me...the girls ride their bikes a lot, but I don't recall ever reading about any of them putting on a helmet first. And on the cover of Mallory Pike, #1 Fan, she's standing next to her bike with no helmet. I always wear one, so not doing so seems just bizarre.
Stacey and Charlotte play 12 games of War. Since Stacey explained winning as getting the entire deck, not playing through once and counting who has more, that must have taken FOREVER. On a similar note, how do they play Clue with just two people?
Kristy reads about the Blizzard of 1888 in some old books Watson bought at an estate sale. There was a huge blizzard in Connecticut and the surrounding area then (one of the worst recorded), so good job on the continuity with real life!
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
An old house in Stoneybrook is going to be torn down, but not before certain items are removed for the historical society. While this is going on, Charlotte Johanssen is staying with the McGills for a week while her parents go to be with her grandfather who's having surgery.
Stacey and Charlotte visit the house one day...and see some rather unsettling things: a mysterious face at the window, a swarm of flies near the back door, flames that suddenly disappear. They also have nightmares about the house. Kristy and Claudia do some investigating, and find that the house is built on part of an old cemetery and that the last owner now lives at a retirement home. They go to visit him and he tells them of more hauntings he experienced while living there. Despite his warnings to not attend the demolition for fear of what might be unleashed, Stacey and Charlotte go to it along with many other people from Stoneybrook. As the house is knocked down, Stacey sees more of the same flames...but no one else does. In fact, everyone else seems bored. Stacey rushes off to the retirement home, only to find that the previous owner died the night before, but had also left her a note, in which he admitted making up all the stories just so he could enjoy their company and give them something exciting to pursue. The things Stacey and Charlotte saw have reasonable explanations (the workers removing the historical pieces). So...not much of a mystery.
What Stacey saw the day of the demolition is never explained, and there are the still the nightmares, plus some weird experiences other girls had (Mallory had a nightmare, Claudia felt a presence). But the other girls' experiences happened a long time ago, and I think were just due to their feeling uncomfortable around an old, abandoned house. As for Stacey and Charlotte? Well, Stacey's diabetes has been harder to control lately and Charlotte gets tonsillitis while staying with the McGills. I think their illnesses caused what wasn't explained by the workers' actions.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: M&Ms, Twinkies, and Twix bars in her closet, crackers under her bed, Doritos
There is even MORE foreshadowing about Stacey's diabetes getting harder to control, possibly because of puberty.
Dawn's lived in Stoneybrook for "almost two years now." Which makes sense: she moved their January of their seventh grade year, and they just finished the summer after eighth. But school has just started again, and they're back in eighth grade.
Their Families:
Stacey's dad is the only one she lets call her Anastasia.
Stacey and her mom still have the painting from Mallory and the Mystery Diary hanging over their fireplace.
The Club:
Again, the claim that Kristy's never missed a meeting, and how Dawn wants her to so she can be president for a day. Kristy has missed a few meetings, including at least one when Dawn could easily have taken over: when her dog died.
Charlotte Johanssen's favorite TV show is still The Cosby Show.
SMS: Nothing new
PSA time:
Hooray! Even though Charlotte's feeling better, she still finishes her penicillin prescription. Not doing so is a good way to get antibiotic-resistant bacteria, because when you're on the mend and feeling better, the bacteria that's still left is the stronger bacteria. Finish your dosages!
Misc:
This just occurred to me...the girls ride their bikes a lot, but I don't recall ever reading about any of them putting on a helmet first. And on the cover of Mallory Pike, #1 Fan, she's standing next to her bike with no helmet. I always wear one, so not doing so seems just bizarre.
Stacey and Charlotte play 12 games of War. Since Stacey explained winning as getting the entire deck, not playing through once and counting who has more, that must have taken FOREVER. On a similar note, how do they play Clue with just two people?
Kristy reads about the Blizzard of 1888 in some old books Watson bought at an estate sale. There was a huge blizzard in Connecticut and the surrounding area then (one of the worst recorded), so good job on the continuity with real life!
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
9/12/10
Mary Anne and Too Many Boys (RS#34)
Original Publication Date: 1990
Ghostwriter? Yes, Mary Lou Kennedy
Synopsis:
Mary Anne and Stacey get to help the Pikes at Sea City again, but this time we get to hear about it from Mary Anne's point of view.
The "too many boys" part refers to Mary Anne and Stacey running into Toby and Alex again, Mary Anne feeling bad about hanging out with Alex because of Logan (then don't. Problem solved), and Vanessa having a crush on a boy who works at the ice cream store...who has a crush on Mallory.
Stacey is smitten with Toby, and Mary Anne is shocked about it. 'Kay. Toby breaks it off with Stacey, though, and she's devastated. Mary Anne ends up discovering that Alex has a girlfriend, so she can relax and enjoy just being friends with him. Vanessa writes a secret admirer poem to the boy at the ice cream store, but phrased so he'll think it's Mallory saying goodbye, so that no one ends up embarrassed.
Considering this was the best-selling BSC book, there's not a whole lot to write about. At least, not that I could find.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Twinkies, Gummi Bears, and M&Ms in a box under her bed,
Stacey hates to iron.
Mallory talks in her sleep.
Their Families:
Dawn's dad is still seeing Carol. Dawn and Jeff are a little worried they might be getting serious.
The Club:
It's interesting to watch Kristy get more and more strict about being to the meetings RIGHT AT 5:30. In her defense, the meetings are short. But it's still funny.
SMS: Summer break
PSA time:
I find it odd that when Jackie gets stung by a bee, there's no mention that Kristy at least keeps an eye out for unusual swelling or already knows he's not allergic. These books usually throw in little tidbits like that. Guess I'll do it: if you're watching someone who gets stung by a bee, watch out for allergic reactions just in case. Most people will be fine, but the people who won't, really won't.
Misc:
This book was ghost-written, and it shows a bit. Some of the writing isn't quite as smooth as it usually is.
It's always bugged me that Mary Anne and Stacey can't explain where the sun "goes" after it sets. Rather than just telling Claire about Earth revolving and rotating around the sun (easily demonstrated with some beach balls), they come up with "It goes behind a cloud." I don't remember not knowing about rotation and revolution. Although, my dad's into space stuff.
The Ramseys and Pikes are lucky that they didn't end up with several more hamsters after Squirt put Frodo in Misty's cage. I know that rats can mate in under three seconds, and I assume hamsters don't take long either.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Mary Lou Kennedy
Synopsis:
Mary Anne and Stacey get to help the Pikes at Sea City again, but this time we get to hear about it from Mary Anne's point of view.
The "too many boys" part refers to Mary Anne and Stacey running into Toby and Alex again, Mary Anne feeling bad about hanging out with Alex because of Logan (then don't. Problem solved), and Vanessa having a crush on a boy who works at the ice cream store...who has a crush on Mallory.
Stacey is smitten with Toby, and Mary Anne is shocked about it. 'Kay. Toby breaks it off with Stacey, though, and she's devastated. Mary Anne ends up discovering that Alex has a girlfriend, so she can relax and enjoy just being friends with him. Vanessa writes a secret admirer poem to the boy at the ice cream store, but phrased so he'll think it's Mallory saying goodbye, so that no one ends up embarrassed.
Considering this was the best-selling BSC book, there's not a whole lot to write about. At least, not that I could find.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Twinkies, Gummi Bears, and M&Ms in a box under her bed,
Stacey hates to iron.
Mallory talks in her sleep.
Their Families:
Dawn's dad is still seeing Carol. Dawn and Jeff are a little worried they might be getting serious.
The Club:
It's interesting to watch Kristy get more and more strict about being to the meetings RIGHT AT 5:30. In her defense, the meetings are short. But it's still funny.
SMS: Summer break
PSA time:
I find it odd that when Jackie gets stung by a bee, there's no mention that Kristy at least keeps an eye out for unusual swelling or already knows he's not allergic. These books usually throw in little tidbits like that. Guess I'll do it: if you're watching someone who gets stung by a bee, watch out for allergic reactions just in case. Most people will be fine, but the people who won't, really won't.
Misc:
This book was ghost-written, and it shows a bit. Some of the writing isn't quite as smooth as it usually is.
It's always bugged me that Mary Anne and Stacey can't explain where the sun "goes" after it sets. Rather than just telling Claire about Earth revolving and rotating around the sun (easily demonstrated with some beach balls), they come up with "It goes behind a cloud." I don't remember not knowing about rotation and revolution. Although, my dad's into space stuff.
The Ramseys and Pikes are lucky that they didn't end up with several more hamsters after Squirt put Frodo in Misty's cage. I know that rats can mate in under three seconds, and I assume hamsters don't take long either.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
9/1/10
Claudia and the Great Search (RS#33)
Original Publication Date: 1990
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
I cringe when I read this book. It might be the start of Claudia's slide from under-achiever to not-so-bright. She discovers that there are very few pictures of herself as an infant and makes the "logical" jump that she's adopted. After all, she's so different from her own family. She starts a fairly extensive search, and eventually embarrasses herself by asking her parents outright. They're kind about it, though, and explain (tactfully) that there are fewer pictures of her than Janine because they were busier with two kids and the second time around things were less novel. They also point out that while Claudia doesn't look a lot like Janine, she looks like a teenaged Mimi.
Claudia also tutors Emily Michelle, helping her with her language-delay issues. She actually has some pretty clever ideas and helps her out well.
Basically, the moral of the story is take pictures of all your kids.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: mini chocolate bars under a quilt, pretzels under her pillow
Claudia has trouble keeping biology terms like phylum and genus straight. Way in the future, around book #113, she has a mnemonic device to remember them.
Claudia has picked up on Kristy's being pretty but not feeling pretty. She also doesn't act disgusted about Stacey's diabetes regimen, which is nice for a best friend. She is annoyed by the biology bit about it, though (and Stacey's diabetes is still hard to control).
Claudia learns to use the microfiche machine.
Considering Janine's supposed to be a genius, I have to question her intelligence in handing a non-blown up balloon to a two-year-old, one we know puts rocks in her mouth.
Their Families:
Peaches and Russ apparently live close enough to come to Janine's award ceremony, but never visited when Mimi when she had a stroke or when she was dying. Also, Claudia suspects they might not be able to have kids.
This clears something up for me: Claudia calls Kristy's stepdad Mr. Brewer but thinks of him as "Watson" since Kristy calls him that. I was under the impression that he was the only adult they called by his first name.
The Club:
BSC history errors: yes, Mary Anne has made one mistake (which Dawn caught very quickly) and yes, Kristy has missed meetings, most recently when her dog died.
Kristy and Shannon have been watching the Papadakis kids while their grandfather recovers from a broken hip and pnuemonia (see PSA).
SMS: Nothing new
PSA time:
If you're in the hospital for whatever reason, it's perfectly fine to ask that anyone coming in your room pause for hand-washing. The last thing you need is a secondary infection.
Misc:
Claudia's science class ends at 1:51. For no good reason, I remember that my eleventh- and twelfth-grade science classes ended at 1:52.
Like Janine, my older brother was recognized at a number of ceremonies for his academic achievements (but unlike Claudia, I can spell my own name). My friends and I started calling any school assembly a "[Brother]-is-smart-award assembly." We're three years apart, too.
The pediatrician's receptionist seems surprised that Claudia doesn't know she had a different pediatrician until age 2. Yeah, geez, Claudia, don't you remember? Also, Claudia doesn't see a pediatrician anymore. I saw mine until way too late. There was an instance that I needed a checkup that my OBGYN couldn't do, so I ended up seeing the pediatrician when I was 22 and already married. I promised him I'd find a proper primary care doctor and that I wouldn't come back unless it was with an infant (and I get to do that in a few months).
I saw a hyacinth macaw do a color-matching game like Claudia does with Emily Michelle. The bird kept wanting to put blue and yellow together, though, presumably because hyacinth macaws are blue and yellow.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 1
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Fritos, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
I cringe when I read this book. It might be the start of Claudia's slide from under-achiever to not-so-bright. She discovers that there are very few pictures of herself as an infant and makes the "logical" jump that she's adopted. After all, she's so different from her own family. She starts a fairly extensive search, and eventually embarrasses herself by asking her parents outright. They're kind about it, though, and explain (tactfully) that there are fewer pictures of her than Janine because they were busier with two kids and the second time around things were less novel. They also point out that while Claudia doesn't look a lot like Janine, she looks like a teenaged Mimi.
Claudia also tutors Emily Michelle, helping her with her language-delay issues. She actually has some pretty clever ideas and helps her out well.
Basically, the moral of the story is take pictures of all your kids.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: mini chocolate bars under a quilt, pretzels under her pillow
Claudia has trouble keeping biology terms like phylum and genus straight. Way in the future, around book #113, she has a mnemonic device to remember them.
Claudia has picked up on Kristy's being pretty but not feeling pretty. She also doesn't act disgusted about Stacey's diabetes regimen, which is nice for a best friend. She is annoyed by the biology bit about it, though (and Stacey's diabetes is still hard to control).
Claudia learns to use the microfiche machine.
Considering Janine's supposed to be a genius, I have to question her intelligence in handing a non-blown up balloon to a two-year-old, one we know puts rocks in her mouth.
Their Families:
Peaches and Russ apparently live close enough to come to Janine's award ceremony, but never visited when Mimi when she had a stroke or when she was dying. Also, Claudia suspects they might not be able to have kids.
This clears something up for me: Claudia calls Kristy's stepdad Mr. Brewer but thinks of him as "Watson" since Kristy calls him that. I was under the impression that he was the only adult they called by his first name.
The Club:
BSC history errors: yes, Mary Anne has made one mistake (which Dawn caught very quickly) and yes, Kristy has missed meetings, most recently when her dog died.
Kristy and Shannon have been watching the Papadakis kids while their grandfather recovers from a broken hip and pnuemonia (see PSA).
SMS: Nothing new
PSA time:
If you're in the hospital for whatever reason, it's perfectly fine to ask that anyone coming in your room pause for hand-washing. The last thing you need is a secondary infection.
Misc:
Claudia's science class ends at 1:51. For no good reason, I remember that my eleventh- and twelfth-grade science classes ended at 1:52.
Like Janine, my older brother was recognized at a number of ceremonies for his academic achievements (but unlike Claudia, I can spell my own name). My friends and I started calling any school assembly a "[Brother]-is-smart-award assembly." We're three years apart, too.
The pediatrician's receptionist seems surprised that Claudia doesn't know she had a different pediatrician until age 2. Yeah, geez, Claudia, don't you remember? Also, Claudia doesn't see a pediatrician anymore. I saw mine until way too late. There was an instance that I needed a checkup that my OBGYN couldn't do, so I ended up seeing the pediatrician when I was 22 and already married. I promised him I'd find a proper primary care doctor and that I wouldn't come back unless it was with an infant (and I get to do that in a few months).
I saw a hyacinth macaw do a color-matching game like Claudia does with Emily Michelle. The bird kept wanting to put blue and yellow together, though, presumably because hyacinth macaws are blue and yellow.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 1
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Fritos, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
8/18/10
Kristy and the Secret of Susan (RS#32)
Original Publication Date: 1990
Ghostwriter? No, this one's all Ann
Synopsis:
(Sorry for the long time between updates. Moving, ugh.)
Kristy starts a month-long sitting job for the Felders' autistic daughter, Susan. She is very autistic, only speaking to sing along with the songs she plays on the piano or to tell people what day of the week a date fell on or will fall on. She has no connection to the outside world. Kristy is hired to give her parents a few hours' break each week while they get ready to send her to another boarding school (institution?). Kristy thinks she can bring Susan out, and works to change her. She takes her to meet her new next-door neighbors, the Hobarts, who have just moved from Australia. They're getting teased about being different, particularly by two bullies, Zach Wolfson and Mel Tucker. Mel also poses as a "friend" of Susan's, which thrills (naive) Kristy, until she realizes he's treating her a sideshow freak, charging neighborhood kids a dollar to see her perform her tricks (piano and the dates). The Hobarts end up fitting in (one is even invited to Zach's birthday party...and another starts going out with Mallory), but Susan makes no progress. Kristy comes to see Susan off to her new school, and learns that her parents are expecting a second child, another daughter named Hope. They mention they've had several tests done and, while autism can't be detected in utero, the baby looks healthy so far.
While I've read a lot of criticism about Kristy's attitude ("I can change her, no matter what her parents say!"), I think it's realistic for a head-strong thirteen-year-old who's never met anyone with autism before. I also think it's realistic that her parents would want their other child to have no difficulties in life. My nephew has some congenital defects and some delays, but since he's only two it's hard to tell how severe. While none of us would change his personality for the world, I can tell that you that given the chance to fix his physical deformities (for example, he was born with fused fingers and toes, among other things), I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Mentos in her dresser drawer, Twinkies and Oreos
Kristy thinks Mary Anne is prettier than she (Kristy) is, and that Dawn is "drop-dead gorgeous" but doesn't realize it. Maybe that's why Mary Anne initially described Dawn as nice-looking but not exactly pretty: it's all relative.
Kristy also describes both Claudia and Stacey as boy-crazy. Usually it's just Stacey, but she is currently tied with Claudia for crushes at five each.
Claudia gets nervous as the Hobarts swing faster and higher, because she's heard that it might be possible to go over the top. How about, instead of making seem dumber, she's scared because she broke her leg on a swing?
Stacey's still feeling under the weather (foreshadowing!).
Their Families:
Boo-Boo the cat only gets along with Shannon the dog.
People used the tease the eight Pike kids by calling them Spiders.
Nannie knows how to knit, and from the description of the sweater she's making Emily Michelle, she might know intarsia or fair isle (which are complicated).
The Club:
New clients: the Felders (Susan, who's severely autistic) and the Hobarts (four boys, the three youngest of whom they sit for).
Kristy credits David Michael with starting the BSC by being its inspiration.
I've mentioned before that during the school year, Kristy should just walk to a friend's house or stay at the library to wait for the meetings so Charlie doesn't have to drive her, but this REALLY doesn't make sense: when sitting for the Felders, she has Charlie drive her there right after school. Why?
Jessi's long-term job with Braddocks is mentioned here only in past tense.
SMS:
SMS has a "special-ed" class.
PSA time:
Mrs. Felder gets this right: from what my (Deaf) ASL teacher told us, "handicapped" is preferable to "disabled." While both mean essentially the same thing, the latter is more blunt in saying that the individual lacks an ability. She made the analogy that disabled is to handicapped as dumb is to mute.
Misc:
It's pretty mean the way the neighborhood kids make fun of the Hobarts because they have different slang. But they might be justified about mocking Vegemite. A lot of Australian food is delicious (mmm, Caramel Koalas and Chocolate Frogs), but Vegemite is disgusting.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 1
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Fritos, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
Ghostwriter? No, this one's all Ann
Synopsis:
(Sorry for the long time between updates. Moving, ugh.)
Kristy starts a month-long sitting job for the Felders' autistic daughter, Susan. She is very autistic, only speaking to sing along with the songs she plays on the piano or to tell people what day of the week a date fell on or will fall on. She has no connection to the outside world. Kristy is hired to give her parents a few hours' break each week while they get ready to send her to another boarding school (institution?). Kristy thinks she can bring Susan out, and works to change her. She takes her to meet her new next-door neighbors, the Hobarts, who have just moved from Australia. They're getting teased about being different, particularly by two bullies, Zach Wolfson and Mel Tucker. Mel also poses as a "friend" of Susan's, which thrills (naive) Kristy, until she realizes he's treating her a sideshow freak, charging neighborhood kids a dollar to see her perform her tricks (piano and the dates). The Hobarts end up fitting in (one is even invited to Zach's birthday party...and another starts going out with Mallory), but Susan makes no progress. Kristy comes to see Susan off to her new school, and learns that her parents are expecting a second child, another daughter named Hope. They mention they've had several tests done and, while autism can't be detected in utero, the baby looks healthy so far.
While I've read a lot of criticism about Kristy's attitude ("I can change her, no matter what her parents say!"), I think it's realistic for a head-strong thirteen-year-old who's never met anyone with autism before. I also think it's realistic that her parents would want their other child to have no difficulties in life. My nephew has some congenital defects and some delays, but since he's only two it's hard to tell how severe. While none of us would change his personality for the world, I can tell that you that given the chance to fix his physical deformities (for example, he was born with fused fingers and toes, among other things), I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Mentos in her dresser drawer, Twinkies and Oreos
Kristy thinks Mary Anne is prettier than she (Kristy) is, and that Dawn is "drop-dead gorgeous" but doesn't realize it. Maybe that's why Mary Anne initially described Dawn as nice-looking but not exactly pretty: it's all relative.
Kristy also describes both Claudia and Stacey as boy-crazy. Usually it's just Stacey, but she is currently tied with Claudia for crushes at five each.
Claudia gets nervous as the Hobarts swing faster and higher, because she's heard that it might be possible to go over the top. How about, instead of making seem dumber, she's scared because she broke her leg on a swing?
Stacey's still feeling under the weather (foreshadowing!).
Their Families:
Boo-Boo the cat only gets along with Shannon the dog.
People used the tease the eight Pike kids by calling them Spiders.
Nannie knows how to knit, and from the description of the sweater she's making Emily Michelle, she might know intarsia or fair isle (which are complicated).
The Club:
New clients: the Felders (Susan, who's severely autistic) and the Hobarts (four boys, the three youngest of whom they sit for).
Kristy credits David Michael with starting the BSC by being its inspiration.
I've mentioned before that during the school year, Kristy should just walk to a friend's house or stay at the library to wait for the meetings so Charlie doesn't have to drive her, but this REALLY doesn't make sense: when sitting for the Felders, she has Charlie drive her there right after school. Why?
Jessi's long-term job with Braddocks is mentioned here only in past tense.
SMS:
SMS has a "special-ed" class.
PSA time:
Mrs. Felder gets this right: from what my (Deaf) ASL teacher told us, "handicapped" is preferable to "disabled." While both mean essentially the same thing, the latter is more blunt in saying that the individual lacks an ability. She made the analogy that disabled is to handicapped as dumb is to mute.
Misc:
It's pretty mean the way the neighborhood kids make fun of the Hobarts because they have different slang. But they might be justified about mocking Vegemite. A lot of Australian food is delicious (mmm, Caramel Koalas and Chocolate Frogs), but Vegemite is disgusting.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 1
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 24
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Fritos, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)
8/2/10
Dawn's Wicked Stepsister (RS#31)
Original Publication Date: 1990
Ghostwriter? No, and Ann wrote the one just before this, too
Synopsis:
We open with the resolution of last book's cliffhanger: Mary Anne catches Sharon's bouquet. Dawn tries not to be upset by it, focusing instead on the excitement of having a sister. Their parents spend the night at a hotel while the girls spend one last night at the Spiers' house. The next day, they all move in to the Schafers'.
Things are tense. Richard is a neat freak and Sharon does things like putting shoes in the vegetable crisper; the Schafers are vegetarian and the Spiers are omnivores. While the parents are usually painfully polite about things, Dawn and Mary Anne have several spats in their shared--and cramped--bedroom. We get to see lots of Mary Anne cattiness, like her boasting about having a boyfriend and implying that Dawn's fat. Things get so bad that Dawn realizes her idea of their sharing a room was a bad one. But how to get Mary Anne out of Dawn's room and into the guest room? A reasonable discussion perhaps?
Don't be silly. Use the secret passage to terrify Mary Anne into leaving! With her brother's help, Dawn comes up with an elaborate plan and succeeds in making Mary Anne believe the ghost of the secret passage is out to get her. Mary Anne moves into the guest room, the family decides to be more open with each other and not try to change each other's habits, and life goes much more smoothly.
And the moment you've all been waiting for. From the last entry: ...Dawn surprises Mary Anne with a silver hair clip, as a "Now We're Sisters" present. I repeat, DAWN gives it to MARY ANNE. Stay tuned for what may be the most famous continuity fail...
And in this book, Dawn is looking for extra sitting jobs to earn money to buy Mary Anne a "Now We're Sisters" present because MARY ANNE surprised DAWN with one at the wedding. But in a bit of continuity win, Dawn gives Mary Anne a cat pin that she knew she'd like. The pin was one of Mary Anne's ideas for a birthday present for Sharon.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: pretzels in her closet, Tootsie rolls and pretzel sticks in her desk
I think this is the first time that Claudia is described as actively not liking sports, rather than just not being on a team. Mary Anne hates sports, too, but I think that's been mentioned.
Their Families:
When Mary Anne comments that she and Dawn are stepsisters, Dawn corrects her "Just sisters." My mom has several varieties of siblings (full, step, half; and some of them adopted) but she's always just called them her brothers and sisters.
Dawn's parents were married 16 years ago, which is about when Stacey's parents got married. Must have been a bad year.
Dawn's mom doesn't drink coffee.
Dawn's dad is dating Carol in this book.
The Club:
Mary Anne recalls the Phantom Phone caller storyline from RS#2, including the burglar alarms she set at the Thomas house. Dawn recounts the Mother's Day surprise from RS#24.
"Mary Anne has not made a single scheduling mistake." Well, she did forget to write down a job in RS#27 until Dawn reminded her to. Dawn also gives the wrong reason for Mary Anne's being the secretary, but since Dawn wasn't in Stoneybrook when the BSC first formed I'll let it pass.
Dawn also says Kristy has never missed a meeting, but she missed a few in the first four books and another when Louie died.
Mallory leaves a meeting sick, which is a first for any BSC member. She turns out to have chicken pox for the second time. This is the book in which every Pike has something: the triplets share a case of viral pneumonia, Nicky breaks three fingers, Vanessa ends up with a badly sprained ankle and some abrasions, Claire and Margo get bronchitis, Mrs. Pike hurts her knee and is on crutches, and Mr. Pike burns his hand badly. Mallory, by the way, ends up with chicken pox scars in "unmentionable places."
SMS: Nothing new
PSA time:
Dawn seems to think that time zones are a miracle of modern science (that's the term she uses when describing the time difference between the East and West coasts). Someone needs to explain to her how Earth revolves and rotates around the sun. Hint: it's not that modern.
Misc:
No one thinks to keep Tigger out of the way of the movers. Idiots. Although, it taught me to be sure the cat was safely stowed in a bathroom with a litter box, water, and food when I moved.
I find it bizarre that Dawn thinks dividers for silverware drawers (Richard's idea) are weird. What did they do before, just throw all the forks, knives, and spoons in a drawer haphazardly? She also criticizes Richard for going over their phone bill. But that makes perfect sense: what if they were overcharged?
Mom, if you read the bit about chicken pox scars and start to feel bad about the almost-invisible one on my chin again, don't. I like it.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 1
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 22
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 37 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Fritos, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor)
Ghostwriter? No, and Ann wrote the one just before this, too
Synopsis:
We open with the resolution of last book's cliffhanger: Mary Anne catches Sharon's bouquet. Dawn tries not to be upset by it, focusing instead on the excitement of having a sister. Their parents spend the night at a hotel while the girls spend one last night at the Spiers' house. The next day, they all move in to the Schafers'.
Things are tense. Richard is a neat freak and Sharon does things like putting shoes in the vegetable crisper; the Schafers are vegetarian and the Spiers are omnivores. While the parents are usually painfully polite about things, Dawn and Mary Anne have several spats in their shared--and cramped--bedroom. We get to see lots of Mary Anne cattiness, like her boasting about having a boyfriend and implying that Dawn's fat. Things get so bad that Dawn realizes her idea of their sharing a room was a bad one. But how to get Mary Anne out of Dawn's room and into the guest room? A reasonable discussion perhaps?
Don't be silly. Use the secret passage to terrify Mary Anne into leaving! With her brother's help, Dawn comes up with an elaborate plan and succeeds in making Mary Anne believe the ghost of the secret passage is out to get her. Mary Anne moves into the guest room, the family decides to be more open with each other and not try to change each other's habits, and life goes much more smoothly.
And the moment you've all been waiting for. From the last entry: ...Dawn surprises Mary Anne with a silver hair clip, as a "Now We're Sisters" present. I repeat, DAWN gives it to MARY ANNE. Stay tuned for what may be the most famous continuity fail...
And in this book, Dawn is looking for extra sitting jobs to earn money to buy Mary Anne a "Now We're Sisters" present because MARY ANNE surprised DAWN with one at the wedding. But in a bit of continuity win, Dawn gives Mary Anne a cat pin that she knew she'd like. The pin was one of Mary Anne's ideas for a birthday present for Sharon.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: pretzels in her closet, Tootsie rolls and pretzel sticks in her desk
I think this is the first time that Claudia is described as actively not liking sports, rather than just not being on a team. Mary Anne hates sports, too, but I think that's been mentioned.
Their Families:
When Mary Anne comments that she and Dawn are stepsisters, Dawn corrects her "Just sisters." My mom has several varieties of siblings (full, step, half; and some of them adopted) but she's always just called them her brothers and sisters.
Dawn's parents were married 16 years ago, which is about when Stacey's parents got married. Must have been a bad year.
Dawn's mom doesn't drink coffee.
Dawn's dad is dating Carol in this book.
The Club:
Mary Anne recalls the Phantom Phone caller storyline from RS#2, including the burglar alarms she set at the Thomas house. Dawn recounts the Mother's Day surprise from RS#24.
"Mary Anne has not made a single scheduling mistake." Well, she did forget to write down a job in RS#27 until Dawn reminded her to. Dawn also gives the wrong reason for Mary Anne's being the secretary, but since Dawn wasn't in Stoneybrook when the BSC first formed I'll let it pass.
Dawn also says Kristy has never missed a meeting, but she missed a few in the first four books and another when Louie died.
Mallory leaves a meeting sick, which is a first for any BSC member. She turns out to have chicken pox for the second time. This is the book in which every Pike has something: the triplets share a case of viral pneumonia, Nicky breaks three fingers, Vanessa ends up with a badly sprained ankle and some abrasions, Claire and Margo get bronchitis, Mrs. Pike hurts her knee and is on crutches, and Mr. Pike burns his hand badly. Mallory, by the way, ends up with chicken pox scars in "unmentionable places."
SMS: Nothing new
PSA time:
Dawn seems to think that time zones are a miracle of modern science (that's the term she uses when describing the time difference between the East and West coasts). Someone needs to explain to her how Earth revolves and rotates around the sun. Hint: it's not that modern.
Misc:
No one thinks to keep Tigger out of the way of the movers. Idiots. Although, it taught me to be sure the cat was safely stowed in a bathroom with a litter box, water, and food when I moved.
I find it bizarre that Dawn thinks dividers for silverware drawers (Richard's idea) are weird. What did they do before, just throw all the forks, knives, and spoons in a drawer haphazardly? She also criticizes Richard for going over their phone bill. But that makes perfect sense: what if they were overcharged?
Mom, if you read the bit about chicken pox scars and start to feel bad about the almost-invisible one on my chin again, don't. I like it.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 1
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 22
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 37 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Fritos, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor)
7/26/10
Mary Anne and the Great Romance (RS#30)
Original Publication Date: 1990
Ghostwriter? Nope, all Ann
Synopsis:
Mary Anne's dad suggests to her and Dawn that they plan a small surprise birthday for Dawn's mom. While at dinner, he proposes by having an engagement ring slipped over a candle on the birthday cake. Mary Anne and Dawn are thrilled: they'll be stepsisters!
Their parents plan a small wedding, but the girls talk them into a slightly larger one: a brief ceremony at a church with a few guests (including, of course, the BSC) then a dinner reception. There are a few hiccups along the way; for example, Mary Anne is the last to find out that she and her dad will move to the Schafers' house. She's worried that Dawn's mom won't get along with Tigger since she doesn't like cats, and not thrilled about leaving the only home she's ever known, but things work out. (Of course, had their parents discussed things with their children a little more, things would have been a little smoother)
By the time the wedding rolls around, most things are smoothed out. Mary Anne's still concerned about combining a vegetarian household with an omnivore one, and a little worried about the Tigger issue, but mostly it's a happy day. Since Mary Anne and Dawn have learned nothing from the book's subplot about the Arnold twins fighting because they're forced to share a room, they plan for Mary Anne to move into Dawn's room rather than the Schafer's guest room.
As many of you know, this book ends with a cliffhanger, with Dawn's mom's bouquet being thrown right toward the two girls. But just before that, Dawn surprises Mary Anne with a silver hair clip, as a "Now We're Sisters" present. I repeat, DAWN gives it to MARY ANNE. Stay tuned for what may be the most famous continuity fail.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: M&Ms under her bed, crackers in her desk
Mary Anne gives a recap of who has pierced ears and how many holes they have, and the counts all match what they were in Mallory and the Trouble with Twins. She and Kristy still plan to never pierce their ears.
Mary Anne also confirms that, due to her diabetes, Stacey has to test her urine. Stacey mentioned that Baby-sitters' Summer Vacation, but why would she tell her friends? Not that she should be ashamed of her diabetes, but what kind of conversation were they having that that would come up?
Mallory and Jessi are still making gum-wrapper chains.
These last few books have been really good about letting us know that Jessi is black without being awkward about it, none of this "But we'd still be friends with her if she were purple!" weirdness.
Claudia's leg still aches before rain.
Stacey's diabetes has been a little harder to control lately.
Mary Anne recently grew a few inches, but Dawn's still taller.
This will be important to know for the next book: sharing a room was Dawn's idea and she pushed Mary Anne into accepting it.
Their Families:
Dawn's mom doesn't like having big surprises thrust upon her (like a surprise birthday party) or waiters singing to her. Smart lady.
Charlie buys the Rust Bucket (his "new" car).
Mary Anne's dad puts off telling her about their impending move to the Schafers' because he knows it will be hard for her to hear. She must have inherited that trait from him.
Mary Anne thinks it's tacky that her Dad and Sharon invited (a small group of) people to the wedding over the phone rather than sending out mailed invitations. I'm with her on this, but at least they didn't do on Facebook.
Jeff still collects free things on the airplane ride (salt and pepper packets, that sort of thing). He is also noticeably awkward around his step-father-to-be, but tries to offer suggestions of what they can do by mentioning that he enjoys going to baseball games. Mary Anne's dad should probably have noted that and made it a point to find a sports game to go to on the family trip they take in the next book.
How awkward must this be for Jeff? He barely knows Mary Anne's dad at all.
The Club:
So, the girls are supposed to read the BSC notebook, right? Meaning they all read about the "Superbrat" back when Jessi was sitting for Derek Masters? Then why do none of them suspect that Marilyn Arnold's friend Gozzie Kunka is fake?
SMS: Nothing new
PSA time:
Dice is plural; die is singular (meaning, for the game pieces).
Misc:
Dawn's mom and Mary Anne's dad have a friend named Stu, like the McGills do. But I think it's a different Stu. This must be in vein with so many dads in the series being named John and working as attorneys; they also have friends named Stu.
When Mary Anne notices the Pike triplets laughing at scantily-clad angel in the church's stained glass window, she thinks she should tell Mallory not to let them into any museums until they're 20. I remember being at a museum with my younger brother when he was about 8...and eye-level with the statues' waists. When we saw the statue of Cupid and Psyche, he remarked, "So, Cupid's a boy, then."
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 1
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 22
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 36 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Fritos, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor)
Ghostwriter? Nope, all Ann
Synopsis:
Mary Anne's dad suggests to her and Dawn that they plan a small surprise birthday for Dawn's mom. While at dinner, he proposes by having an engagement ring slipped over a candle on the birthday cake. Mary Anne and Dawn are thrilled: they'll be stepsisters!
Their parents plan a small wedding, but the girls talk them into a slightly larger one: a brief ceremony at a church with a few guests (including, of course, the BSC) then a dinner reception. There are a few hiccups along the way; for example, Mary Anne is the last to find out that she and her dad will move to the Schafers' house. She's worried that Dawn's mom won't get along with Tigger since she doesn't like cats, and not thrilled about leaving the only home she's ever known, but things work out. (Of course, had their parents discussed things with their children a little more, things would have been a little smoother)
By the time the wedding rolls around, most things are smoothed out. Mary Anne's still concerned about combining a vegetarian household with an omnivore one, and a little worried about the Tigger issue, but mostly it's a happy day. Since Mary Anne and Dawn have learned nothing from the book's subplot about the Arnold twins fighting because they're forced to share a room, they plan for Mary Anne to move into Dawn's room rather than the Schafer's guest room.
As many of you know, this book ends with a cliffhanger, with Dawn's mom's bouquet being thrown right toward the two girls. But just before that, Dawn surprises Mary Anne with a silver hair clip, as a "Now We're Sisters" present. I repeat, DAWN gives it to MARY ANNE. Stay tuned for what may be the most famous continuity fail.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: M&Ms under her bed, crackers in her desk
Mary Anne gives a recap of who has pierced ears and how many holes they have, and the counts all match what they were in Mallory and the Trouble with Twins. She and Kristy still plan to never pierce their ears.
Mary Anne also confirms that, due to her diabetes, Stacey has to test her urine. Stacey mentioned that Baby-sitters' Summer Vacation, but why would she tell her friends? Not that she should be ashamed of her diabetes, but what kind of conversation were they having that that would come up?
Mallory and Jessi are still making gum-wrapper chains.
These last few books have been really good about letting us know that Jessi is black without being awkward about it, none of this "But we'd still be friends with her if she were purple!" weirdness.
Claudia's leg still aches before rain.
Stacey's diabetes has been a little harder to control lately.
Mary Anne recently grew a few inches, but Dawn's still taller.
This will be important to know for the next book: sharing a room was Dawn's idea and she pushed Mary Anne into accepting it.
Their Families:
Dawn's mom doesn't like having big surprises thrust upon her (like a surprise birthday party) or waiters singing to her. Smart lady.
Charlie buys the Rust Bucket (his "new" car).
Mary Anne's dad puts off telling her about their impending move to the Schafers' because he knows it will be hard for her to hear. She must have inherited that trait from him.
Mary Anne thinks it's tacky that her Dad and Sharon invited (a small group of) people to the wedding over the phone rather than sending out mailed invitations. I'm with her on this, but at least they didn't do on Facebook.
Jeff still collects free things on the airplane ride (salt and pepper packets, that sort of thing). He is also noticeably awkward around his step-father-to-be, but tries to offer suggestions of what they can do by mentioning that he enjoys going to baseball games. Mary Anne's dad should probably have noted that and made it a point to find a sports game to go to on the family trip they take in the next book.
How awkward must this be for Jeff? He barely knows Mary Anne's dad at all.
The Club:
So, the girls are supposed to read the BSC notebook, right? Meaning they all read about the "Superbrat" back when Jessi was sitting for Derek Masters? Then why do none of them suspect that Marilyn Arnold's friend Gozzie Kunka is fake?
SMS: Nothing new
PSA time:
Dice is plural; die is singular (meaning, for the game pieces).
Misc:
Dawn's mom and Mary Anne's dad have a friend named Stu, like the McGills do. But I think it's a different Stu. This must be in vein with so many dads in the series being named John and working as attorneys; they also have friends named Stu.
When Mary Anne notices the Pike triplets laughing at scantily-clad angel in the church's stained glass window, she thinks she should tell Mallory not to let them into any museums until they're 20. I remember being at a museum with my younger brother when he was about 8...and eye-level with the statues' waists. When we saw the statue of Cupid and Psyche, he remarked, "So, Cupid's a boy, then."
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 1
Summers after 8th grade: 1
BSC Fights: 5
SMS Staff: 15
Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified
Clients: 22
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 36 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Fritos, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)
Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor)
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