5/25/10

Kristy and the Mother's Day Surprise (RS#24)

Original Publication Date: 1989

Ghostwriter? No

Synopsis:

Kristy and the BSC are wondering what to do for Mother's Day (while Mary Anne feels left out). Our Great Idea Machine comes up with a plan: they'll take their younger siblings out the day before Mother's Day, along with some charges, so the moms get some rest. Claudia finds a nearby carnival, and Stacey comes along to help. Those members without younger siblings make their moms personalized brooches, and Mary Anne decides that since her dad raised her alone, she'll get him a book he wants. And everyone loves the BSC.

But the real surprise is what Kristy's mom and stepdad announce. They've been asking how the Thomas and Brewer kids would feel about another sibling, leading Kristy and the rest to think that Elizabeth's pregnant. Nope! They (somehow managed, without telling the kids or needing to have social services visit the house or anything) adopted a two-year-old little girl from Vietnam. Welcome, Emily Michelle! Soon, Karen the Brat will name a rat after you.


Established or continued in this book:


The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: red hots in her pencil cup, Cheese Doodles under her bed, Cracker Jacks in her closet, M&Ms in a shoe box,

Claudia keeps most of her art supplies under her bed.


Their Families:

While Kristy makes a good point that families are not necessarily a mom, a dad, and 2.5 kids, I don't think Nanny qualifies as a one-person family. She's part of your family, Kristy. Along similar lines, one reason I love my granny is that she considers my nephew (husband's sister's son) part of her family. She's awesome like that.

I don't understand why it was a big deal for Mallory and Jessi to get their hair cut. It's not like they wanted to dye it wild colors or get expensive things done to it. Why did their parents care so much?

Sam and Charlie still play the cannonball game with David Michael, Karen, and Andrew.

There's more with Mimi deteriorating, building up for #26.

Stacey's parents have been arguing a lot.


The Club: Nothing new


SMS: Nothing new


PSA time:

Okay, I need to clarify this: the "greeting card people" did not invent Mother's Day. Neither did Hallmark. Various occasions to celebrate mothers have existed since ancient Greece. What we celebrate in the US was thought up by Anna Jarvis in 1907 to honor her late mother (Jarvis herself had no children). It quickly became commercialized, which Jarvis did not appreciate. Saying it's a Hallmark holiday is like calling Christmas a Hallmark holiday just because that store sells stuff for it.

Also, P. T. Barnum didn't say that there's a sucker born every minute; his rival did.


Misc:

I am always confused about how to write Mother's Day. Where should the apostrophe go? Anna Jarvis said it should be singular possessive, but I don't know... It's meant for all mothers, so it's plural. But if I'm just writing to my mom then should it become singular? Or should I forget it altogether and say it's a day about mothers and fine with no apostrophe? I feel like Janine in Kristy's Great Idea, standing outside Claudia's door contemplating whether The Baby-sitters Club should have an apostrophe.

This book takes place in April and May.

A Molly Gordon owned this book. And also a purple pen.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 1

Halloweens in 8th grade: 1

BSC Fights: 5

SMS Staff: 13 (2 6th grade, 3 7th grade, 4 8th grade, 2 elective, 1 vice-principal, 1 secretary)

Students: 32 8th graders, six sixth-graders

Clients: 19

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 33 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, 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, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)

Crushes: Claudia-3 (Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-4 (Toby, Pete Black, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor)

10 comments:

Sadako said...

I always wonder--will the girls who read these books (Molly Gordon, etc.) ever pop up and say, "Hey, that was me!" Just a thought.

Question--is that the right synopsis for this book? I thought this was the mother's day one but your synopsis mentions Dawn visiting CA...?

SJSiff said...

Thank you, Sadako! It didn't save right before posting. Off to fix...

ps: so far, no one has mentioned "that's my book!" but I'm hoping.

megan s said...

Scott Foley? Who is he? Isn't there a movie start named that? or something?

SJSiff said...

megan s: He was the lifeguard at Sea City in #8, Boy Crazy Stacey. And yes, he is an actor. He was in Scream 3 and had recurring roles on Scrubs and Dawson's Creek.

megan s said...

oh i guess i never knew his last name lol

Laura said...

Wow; Scott from Sea City's last name is Foley?! I don't remember that.

I believe Scott Foley also played Noel on Felicity.

Lauren said...

You know, I was just thinking a few weeks ago (on Father's Day, appropriately) that there was never a BSC Father's Day book - just Mother's Day. I find that kind of weird.

and yay for this blog! I just found it through another blog, and this kind of added-up minutiae is exactly what I find endlessly fascinating. (Too fascinating. I am a dork.)

SJSiff said...

Lauren, that's a really good point. I can't recall Father's Day being mentioned, though I'm sure it was. It's like in school. Mother's Day is in May when most schools are in session so the teacher can organize a tea or something, but Father's Day is in June, when a lot of schools are out or almost out and you're lucky to have an art class where you make a card for Dad.

charmecia said...

this is actually one of my kristy books. and i hate kristy. but i thought this one was actually good, not only because kristy was nice, but because emily michelle is entered into the family in this one.

plus, stacey mcgill makes a cameo in this book. awesome. i love stacey.

LauraTheWonderTart said...

Hooray for Molly Gordon and her excellent taste in pens!!